Telstra denies being hacked in cyber extortion bid

Joshua Peach, Paul Smith and Amelia McGuire

Oct 9, 2025 – 10.32am

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Telstra has denied being breached by hackers after a notorious criminal group added it to the list of companies exposed in a wide-ranging attack that also targeted airline Qantas and global cloud-based software company Salesforce, threatening to leak the data of millions of users if its demands are not met.

Overnight, the international cybercriminal group Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters updated its dark web ransom site to include Australia’s largest telecommunications company, saying it would leak 100GB of personal information relating to users, if negotiations with Salesforce didn’t begin before October 10.

Joshua Peach is a data journalist at The Australian Financial Review

Paul Smith edits the technology coverage and has been a leading writer on the sector for 20 years. He covers big tech, business use of tech, the fast-growing Australian tech industry and start-ups, telecommunications and national innovation policy.

Amelia McGuire covers technology from the AFR's Sydney newsroom. She was previously the aviation, tourism and gambling reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.