Broadband News

Thu, 13th Oct 2022

Medibank takes systems offline after 'cyber incident'

Medibank has taken two customer-facing systems offline “to reduce the likelihood of damage to systems or data loss” stemming from a cyber security incident.

Source: iTnews Australia

A-G says privacy reforms may be fast-tracked after Optus breach

The federal government is considering breaking some urgent reforms out of the Privacy Act review in the wake of the Optus data breach, attorney general Mark Dreyfus said yesterday.

Source: iTnews Australia

Home Affairs boss: Optus breach is not a model for policy debate

Home Affairs boss Michael Pezzullo has suggested the Optus breach, while driving much discussion about cyber security policy, isn’t necessarily a good model for policy debates.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 12th Oct 2022

Community Fibre secures $1.7 billion facility to ramp full-fibre broadband network rollout

London-based internet service provider Community Fibre has secured £985 million ($1.7 billion) facility to launch a full-fibre broadband network to 2.2 million London homes by the end of 2024.

Source: iTWire

Mon, 10th Oct 2022

After Optus, a second SingTel company discloses data breach

Dialog, an Australian IT services company recently bought by the Optus parent, has said its employees and clients are affected by a breach it detected last month.

Source: SMH

NBN Co offers $125K for regional innovation

NBN Co has launched the third round of its regional Australian grants program, tabling a total of $125,000.

Source: ARN

Data from old attack on Optus parent Singtel surfaces on Web forum

Data stolen from Singapore's multinational telecommunications conglomerate Singtel on 20 January last year, during an attack through a file-sharing system from Accellion that was close to end-of-life at the time, has surfaced on a forum on the clear Web. Singtel owns the Australian telco Optus which recently suffered a massive data breach.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 07th Oct 2022

Class action firm files claim against Optus

The claim lodged by Maurice Blackburn is seeking compensation on behalf of millions of Optus customers for alleged privacy law breaches.

Source: SMH

Optus ups number of Medicare cards breached

Optus has revised the number of its customers whose Medicare card numbers were exposed in a recent data breach to 43,000.

Source: iTnews Australia

New Telstra and NBN Co agreement goes live

​A new definitive agreement between Telstra and NBN Co comes into effect today following approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Source: ARN

Thu, 06th Oct 2022

Sydney man charged for allegedly trying to scam Optus breach victims

A 19-year-old Sydney man has been charged with allegedly trying to blackmail Optus customers whose data was leaked onto the internet as proof of a data breach.

Source: iTnews Australia

Gov to update telco regulations to help protect Optus breach victims

The federal government has announced emergency regulations designed to help banks and agencies protect customers caught up in the Optus data breach.

Source: iTnews Australia

Sun, 02nd Oct 2022

Australian telco sector security sweep comes up clean, so far

A sweep of the Australian telecommunications sector for vulnerabilities or evidence of a coordinated campaign following the Optus breach had not uncovered anything of major concern, cyber security minister Clare O’Neil said Sunday.

Source: iTnews Australia

Services Australia struggles to gauge exposure to Optus data breach

Services Australia is unaware of the extent to which Medicare numbers or other credentials have been exposed in the Optus breach, because the telco hasn’t responded to the agency’s queries.

Source: iTnews Australia

Sat, 01st Oct 2022

Did Optus suffer another data breach before the big one?

Did Optus suffer another data breach before the big leak, one that has gone generally unmentioned and unnoticed? At least one security professional who has been closely following the incidents at the telco appears to think so.

Source: iTWire

Australian police, banks join forces to monitor leaked Optus dataset

Federal and state authorities have set up a new operation aimed at protecting the identities of 10,200 Optus customers whose details were published to an online forum following a massive data breach.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 30th Sep 2022

All Belong mobile plans now have 5G, but there's a catch

All Belong mobile customers can now get 5G connectivity at no extra cost.

Source: WhistleOut

Telcos, ISPs cautious about CDR

Telecommunications and Internet Service Providers say the government should demonstrate that the Consumer Data Right has delivered benefits for banking and energy consumers, before extending the regime to other industries.

Source: iTnews Australia

Oman-Australia cable lights up

SUB.CO’s Australia-Oman cable is live. The project was first floated by Bevan Slattery in 2019, and was laid from Perth to Oman between July 2021 and April 2022.

Source: iTnews Australia

TPG likely to join forces with Optus if Telstra deal fails: ACCC

​Optus and TPG Telecom could be set to team up for their own network-sharing deal if the latter’s with Telstra is unsuccessful, the competition watchdog has said.

Source: ARN

Albanese says Optus has agreed to pay for replacement passports

Optus has agreed to pay for the replacement of passports of users caught up in the data breach that the telco suffered, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says.

Source: iTWire

ACCC wants ‘further views’ on Telstra, TPG mobile network deal

Australia’s compeitition watchdog the ACCC has released a statement of preliminary views on the authorisation sought by Telstra and TPG for their proposed regional mobile network arrangements.

Source: iTWire

Thu, 29th Sep 2022

Optus breach: Labor pledge to update laws covering security

Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says the laws governing security have not kept pace with technology, adding that the government would work to update legislation to make it fit for purpose.

Source: iTWire

ACS calls for cyber security reform after Optus breach​

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has backed up calls from the federal government to reform current privacy and cyber security laws following the breach of over 9 million Optus customer records.

Source: ARN

iseek enters SA with multimillion YourDC acquisition

Brisbane-based iseek has expanded its reach into South Australia with the acquisition of data centre operator YourDC.

Source: ARN

Tue, 27th Sep 2022

An alleged hacker has offered their 'deepest apologies' to Optus. Here's the latest on the data breach

What we know after a forum user claiming to have the details of Optus customers threatened to release 10,000 records unless a ransom is paid, only to then claim "we don't care anymore".

Source: ABC News

How to protect yourself from inevitable Optus-style hacks

Whether you’ve been affected by the latest breach or not, there are still some things you should know to keep yourself, your accounts and your credit as safe as you can.

Source: SMH

NSW gov to help reissue driver's licences after Optus breach

The NSW state government has changed its stance on re-issuing identity documents in the wake of the huge Optus data breach.

Source: iTnews Australia

TPG Telecom to shut 3G network in December 2023

TPG Telecom will shut down its 3G network in December 2023.

Source: iTnews Australia

TPG Telecom confirms 3G switch off date

TPG Telecom has confirmed a switch off date of 15 December 2023 for all its 3G mobile network services, providing time for customers to prepare for the move to faster 4G and 5G mobile services.

Source: ARN