Telstra reveals Pacnet security breach

Telstra's Asian telecommunications provider Pacnet has been targeted in a security breach.

Telstra signage at a store in Sydney

Telstra's Asian telecommunications provider has been targeted in a security breach. (AAP)

Telstra's newly acquired Asian telecommunications provider Pacnet has been hacked.

Telstra was made aware of the security breach after finalising the purchase of the Hong-Kong based provider on April 16.

A third party accessed Pacnet's corporate IT network, including emails and administrative systems, about a fortnight before the takeover was finalised.

Pacnet customers affected include government entities and small, medium and large businesses.

Telstra's chief information security officer Mike Burgess says malicious software was uploaded to the network, however it's not clear if any data has been stolen or leaked.

"We have no evidence that data was taken from the Pacnet corporate network but because of the nature of the breach we believed it was important to inform all customers of this," he said.

Group executive of global enterprise services Brendon Riley said Telstra had taken immediate action to protect the security of the network once it was informed of the breach, including additional monitoring.

"We have had no contact from the perpetrators so we don't know the reason behind it or who was involved," he said.

He said the focus was on informing all customers of the breach as finding who did it would be difficult.

Telstra customer details are safe because there's no connection between Pacnet's network and Telstra's network, he added.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world