Optus leak: Singapore Telecommunications appoints Deloitte to assess data breach

The second-largest telecommunications company in Australia, Optus, suffered a significant cybersecurity breach 12 days ago, and its owner Singapore Telecommunications or Singtel on Monday said it is still trying to estimate the possible cost of the damage caused.

Singtel's statement came amid reports that it might end up paying significant compensation for the theft of sensitive information from 10 million users. Although the telecommunication firm is said to have hired lawyers to assist it, it has not received any official notice of the case, amid reports of a possible class action suit by consumers.

On Monday (October 3), Optus announced that Deloitte had been selected to conduct an impartial, external review of the attack.

The Australian government has demanded that the businesses notify the people affected and said that customers were at risk of financial crimes.

"Singtel is continuing to evaluate the potential financial implications arising from this matter and any material development will be disclosed to the market on a timely basis," the company said in a statement.

The Optus chief executive said in a video message that about 2.1 million of its users, out of 10 million, were compromised with their identity numbers revealed. She said that the corporation has notified all 10,000 people that the data has been leaked online and is collaborating with the police.

The law firm Slater & Gordon and Maurice Balckburn stated that they are currently looking into the possibility of filing a case action against Optus to seek compensation for anyone who has been impacted by this incident.

Nearly 40 per cent of Australians have been impacted by this Optus cyber breach.

(With inputs from agencies)

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