Optus, Australian govt clash over cyber attack amid reports of hacker retreat

Australia’s No. 2 telecoms firm Optus, hit by a massive cyber attack, faced a barrage of criticism on Tuesday, with the government accusing it of trying to conceal the magnitude of the breach even as reports said hackers had deleted stolen data.

The Australian federal government has blamed Optus for the breach, flagged an overhaul of privacy rules and higher fines, and suggested the company had “effectively left the window open” for hackers to steal data.