Australian police probe purported hacker’s ransom demand

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s second-largest wireless carrier says police are investigating the release by a purported hacker of stolen personal data from its customers and demanding a $1 million ransom in cryptocurrency. The Australian government has blamed lax cybersecurity at Optus for the breach, which affected 9.8 million people. A Sydney-based cybersecurity writer says the purported hacker released 10,000 Optus customer records on the dark web and threatened to release more unless Optus pays the ransom. Later Tuesday, the writer said the purported hacker had deleted his post along with three samples of the stolen data. He apparently withdrew the ransom demand, claimed the stolen data had been deleted and apologized to Optus customers. There was no indication why he changed his mind.