Optus data breach: Daniel Ricciardo is backing telco giant after cyber attack

Aussie F1 racing star Daniel Ricciardo has revealed his stance on telco giant Optus, as the fallout from the cyber attack continues.

Optus’ parent company Singtel announced on Monday it has been the target of a separate cyber attack, with personal information of 1000 current and former staff members and clients published on the dark web.

Dialog, which is an IT consulting firm that Singtel bought earlier this year, was the victim of a data breach on Friday.

In addition to personal details of staff, information from 20 of its clients were also stolen and shared.

Some of Dialog’s clients include major banks, government organisations and some airline retailers.

The latest development comes as Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo on Monday declared he will continue to support Optus as it deals with the fallout of a cyber attack that saw millions of Australians’ personal details stolen.

Ricciardo, who was appointed Optus’ Chief of Optimism in 2020, has vowed to stick with the telco giant through the turmoil.

“Optus has backed me through my ups and downs and I plan to do the same in return,” Ricciardo said.

Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo will stick with Optus in his role as Chief of Optimism. Picture: Tony McDonough

Optus was hit with its first legal action on Friday, with Maurice Blackburn Lawyers announcing it had lodged a representative claim to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, led by Macquarie University academic Sean Foley.

On the same day, the telco giant said of the 9.8 million customers who had data stolen in the cyber attack, 17,000 were valid Medicare card numbers. A further 26,000 expired Medicare details were also exposed.

“Optus can confirm that we have communicated with all contactable customers who have had their Medicare card number exposed,” a statement on Optus’ website reads.

“If we do not have valid contact details for impacted customers, those customers will be contacted via direct mail using the last mailing address we have on file, as soon as possible.”

Optus said its call centres would not be able to provide customers with more information on this issue. But it was is contact with Services Australia and would be advising affected customers on steps to take.

Former tennis star Ash Barty accepted her first corporate role after retiring from the sport earlier this year, being appointed as Optus’ Chief of Inspiration. Picture: Richard Dobson

An Optus spokesperson confirmed former Number 1 tennis champion Ash Barty was also staying on as its Chief of Inspiration.

“Ash Barty and Dan Ricciardo remain part of the Optus family and will continue in their respective roles,” an Optus spokesperson said.