Updated

FBI called in, Optus hacker deletes data

Lucas Baird, Andrew Tillett and Max Mason

Updated Sep 27, 2022 – 11.18am, first published at 7.50am

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The Australian Federal Police is taking seriously the claims of an apparent hacker who demanded a ransom of $US1 million ($1.5 million) in exchange for stolen Optus customer data before withdrawing the demand because the case had attracted “too many eyes”.

The purported hacker took to an online forum to step up the ransom attempt on Tuesday, leaking 10,000 more Medicare numbers, addresses, passport numbers and other contact details.

Lucas Baird is a journalist based in The Australian Financial Review's Sydney office.

Andrew Tillett writes on politics, foreign affairs, defence and security from the Canberra press gallery.

Max Mason covers financial crime, courts and corporate wrongdoing. A Walkley Award winner, Max’s journalism has also received awards from the National Press Club of Australia, the Kennedy Awards and Citibank. Message Max on Signal https://tinyurl.com/MaxMason