Australia tells SingTel-owned Optus to pay cost of replacing hacked ID documents

SYDNEY: Australian telecoms giant Optus must pay the cost of replacing the passports and drivers licences of millions of customers whose personal information was stolen in one of the country’s biggest data breaches, the government said on Thursday.

The theft of data attached to 10 million customer accounts, equivalent to 40% of Australia’s population, was the result of an error by Optus so it was up to the Singapore Telecommunications-owned company to pay for the consequences, Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said.

“Optus is absolutely responsible for paying for the costs and the implications of this for customers, whether it’s the replacement of a licence, whether it’s the replacement of a passport, or other necessary pieces of ID,” Jones told reporters in Sydney.