Telco’s unit says it is unable to determine the quantum of any penalties, which the Australian federal court will determine
[SINGAPORE] The Australian Information Commissioner (AIC) on Friday (Aug 8) filed proceedings in the country’s federal court against Optus over alleged breaches linked to the Singtel subsidiary’s 2022 cyberattack.
The AIC is alleging breaches of Australia’s Privacy Act 1988 in relation to the cyberattack Optus faced in September 2022, said Optus in a bourse filing. The attack led to a leak of the personal identification data of some 2.1 million Optus customers.
“The Optus entities will review and consider the matters raised in the proceedings and will respond to the claims made by the AIC in due course,” said Singtel’s Australian unit.
Optus, the second-largest telco in Australia, said it is unable to determine the quantum of any penalties, which the federal court will determine.
If a contravention is found, the court will consider a number of factors and “apply a penalty amount it determines overall as appropriate based on the events that occurred”, Optus said.
The group noted that the penalty amount is “not necessarily a direct calculation based on the number of contraventions”.
“As the matter is now before the Australian courts, the Optus entities will not be commenting further at this time.”
Singtel shares were down 0.7 per cent or S$0.03 at S$3.98 as at 9.05 am on Friday.
Share with us your feedback on BT’s products and services
