Police say hacker concealed ID in Australian privacy breach

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Police say the hacker who stole the personal data of almost 10 million people in one of Australia’s worst privacy breaches concealed their identity, actions and whereabouts. They say the investigation into the cyberattack will be “long and complex.” The government blames lax cybersecurity at the Optus telecommunications company, which maintains it was the target of a sophisticated cyberattack that penetrated several layers of security. While details of 9.8 million Optus customers were stolen, authorities are most concerned for more than 10,000 customers whose records were dumped on the dark web. The hacker later withdrew a $1 million ransom demand and apologized, though experts are skeptical.