Every company’s most valuable asset is its data. According to Statista, the global average cost of one data breach stood at $4.24 million in 2021 and $4.35 million in 2022. Meanwhile, Forbes says 43% of all data breaches involve SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses). Moreover, more than 60% of SMBs reported a data breach in the past year.
Most of these organizations ignore cybersecurity threats. If you don’t want to become another statistic, you can’t underestimate the importance of cybersecurity. Your company’s protection must always be a priority.
Here are some of the top email security news stories and cybersecurity headlines of October’s first week.
Let’s dive in!
Teen Arrested for Blackmailing Victims of Optus Data Leak
A nineteen-year-old teenager was arrested by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for using leaked Optus customer data.
Last month the suspect used 10,200 records leaked by the Optus hackers.
After the leak, the teen contacted victims over SMS to threaten to sell their data to other hackers if they refused to pay $1,300 within two days.
The impostor used a Commonwealth Bank of Australia account to obtain the ransom. The AFP identified the account and got the holder’s bank information.
The teenage cybercriminal sent blackmailing messages to 93 individuals whose data was exposed in the Optus data leak, though none of them paid the ransom.
The suspect now faces charges of using a telecommunication network to blackmail the victims (10 years of imprisonment) and dealing with identification data (maximum of 7 years in prison).
The Optus breach hackers have yet to be identified, and the AFP’s investigation is still underway.
Optus published an update on its internal investigation results, confirming that the breach impacted 9.8 million customers and compromised 2.1 million government ID numbers.
Telstra Employees’ Data for Sale on the Dark Web
With over 18 million retail mobile services subscribers, Telstra, the Australian telecom giant, suffered a personal data leak of 30,000 employees.
Telstra said in its statement published on Tuesday that its systems weren’t affected by the breach, and no customer data was exposed.
The 2017 data came from a third-party platform called Work Life NAB.
The company stated that the supplier previously provided a “not-obsolete’ Telstra employee rewards program.
After the leak, the data was posted on the Dark Web, and the same forum used by the cybercriminals accountable for the Optus breach.
The stolen Telstra data included:
- First names
- Last names
- Work email addresses of 30,000 staff members
It’s worth mentioning that only 12,800 of the staff affected by the breach still work at the company.
A company representative announced that they’d reset the passwords of all users to exercise caution.
Final Thoughts
The importance of domain and email security is linked to the potential impact of cyber attacks against companies worldwide.
Improving your company’s security measures should always be a priority, so don’t hesitate and secure today!
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