Optus hack: What affected Australians should know

A cyber-intelligence journalist who has reached the person claiming to be behind the Optus hack doesn’t believe those responsible will be caught.

But he says there’s no point in Optus meeting the demands made by the hackers.

“They’re trying to extort Optus for US$1 million paid into in a cryptocurrency known as Monero,” executive editor of the Information Security Media Group, Jeremy Kirk, told Neil Mitchell.

“A lot of companies are victims of extortion attempts like this, but you have to question – are you going to trust somebody who has already perpetrated a crime against you?”

Mr Kirk says while financial details weren’t exposed in the leak, scammers who know the contact details and addresses of Australians may send phishing emails or texts.

“Then they have your login details and they can advance from there,” he said.

Mr Kirk thinks it’s unlikely the identity of the hacker will be unveiled.

“It would be very, very difficult, I think, to connect this person with someone real behind the keyboard,” he said.

Press PLAY below to hear Mr Kirk’s tips for those who’s data has been exposed

UPDATE: I reached the person who claims to have hacked Optus. I’ve also been contacted by a second, separate source who says the hacker’s version of events is approximately correct. Here’s what they said. #OptusHack #infosec #auspol

— Jeremy Kirk (@Jeremy_Kirk) September 24, 2022