Cassowary Coast council reports personal information leak via Oracle CMS
A retiree with a love for animals was making calls to help a lost pup when he had his personal information hacked. Not upset, he just wants those responsible to take him fishing in return.
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A former plumber with a love for animals had his personal data stolen by hackers while trying to report a lost dog to his local council.
Bilyana resident Michael Wiltshire noticed a lost pup hanging by the rest area off the Bruce Hwy, about 15 minutes south of Tully, in 2022.
He tried calling Cassowary Coast Regional Council to report the animal, but was directed to a third-party call centre – Oracle CMS.
The council, like many local governments, uses third-party operators to handle queries outside its regular hours.
“I didn’t end up speaking with anyone from the council, I spoke with this other service provider and had to leave a message,” Mr Wiltshire said.
“I can’t remember how it all went down, it was two years ago now, but I made a couple of calls and in the end the police ended up picking the dog up.”
Last week, more than two years after his call, the 55-year-old was notified by the council his personal information was part of a cyber attack which hit Oracle between March 1 and March 31, 2022.
He said he rang CCRC to query the basics such as what information had been leaked and if he should change his number.
“They just told me that I had made an after-hours call, that they had changed their service and no longer used that service,” Mr Wiltshire said.
“Does it mean someone can pose as me and hack into my bank account?
“I don’t know.”
A CCRC spokesperson confirmed 41 residents had been notified of the breach, which took place in April this year, but impacted data collected in March 2022.
The spokesperson said the council was not seeking financial compensation and Oracle remained its chosen third-party provider for handling after-hours calls.
Despite the serious nature of the cyber attack, Mr Wiltshire had a nonchalant attitude towards the breach.
“This week I got two calls from an unknown Sydney number, I didn’t answer and when I tried to call back it didn’t ring. So my number is out there.
“It’s a bit hard to care, it feels like you’re getting scammed everyday, there’s always a message.
“But if they (hackers) want to ring me up, I don’t care, I live on my own and get bored.”
News of the Oracle breach comes as the digital ID era dawns on Australia with the federal government passing the Digital ID Bill in May, expected to come into effect in November.
The legislation provides the basis to expand the existing digital ID system for full use across states and territories for government services and eventually the private sector.
Last month the federal government expanded those plans, unveiling details for its digital ID trust exchange, which would create a system similar to “tap and pay” to trade personal information.
Mr Wiltshire said while it was beyond his understanding, he wasn’t phased by the transition.
“The whole world is going digital, that’s what they’re learning at school, it’s just gonna be one of the tools of society so get on board,” he said.
“We had to teach our dads how to use the remote control, this is just the new era.”
He said he was not upset with the CCRC, but would feel vindicated if “they just take me out fishing”.
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Originally published as Cassowary Coast council reports personal information leak via Oracle CMS
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