A Sydney man has been arrested on charges of attempting to blackmail Optus customers via SMS messages, using data exposed in the recent cyberattack and data breach.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) executed a search warrant at a home in Rockdale, in Sydney's south, and arrested the 19-year-old man accused of the fraud.
He is not believed to be responsible for the original Optus data breach . However, it is believed that the man accessed the 10,200 stolen files posted online by the original hacker and then sent an SMS message to 93 customers . The message demanded $2,000 from the recipient, threatening further leaks of information if the ransom was not paid.
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Most likely, none of the 93 customers who received the message paid the ransom.
AFP's Assistant Commissioner of Cyber Command, Justine Gough, said the man allegedly tried to profit financially from stolen data posted on a hacking forum belonging to Optus customers.
"Last week, the AFP and our state and territory partners launched Operation Guardian to protect the most vulnerable customers affected by the Optus data breach and we were absolutely clear that there would be zero tolerance for the criminal use of this stolen data," Gough said.
“The warning is clear. Do not test the ability or dedication of law enforcement… Just because one arrest was made does not mean there won’t be another“.
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AFP identified a bank account used in the SMS as part of its investigation.
The 19-year-old Sydney man has since been charged with two offences – using a telecommunications network with intent to commit a serious offence and handling identity documents. These offences carry maximum prison sentences of 10 and seven years.
The man is due to appear in Sydney Central Local Court later.
The arrest comes just two days after Optus announced that at least 2.1 million ID numbers had been stolen. Following investigations, Optus said that of the 9.8 million customers whose data was breached, 7.7 million do not need to replace their documents as ID have not been affected.
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Optus is contacting customers affected by the data breach, and many are expressing concern about the many messages they are receiving from different numbers.
Optus continues investigations
The company's CEO, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, said Optus is determined to find out what went wrong and caused the data.
Source: www.9news.com.au
