Scouts Victoria hit by massive personal data breach

The personal medical and financial details of hundreds of Scouts Victoria members have been targeted through an email phishing scheme in a massive data breach.

Hundreds of people’s data could be at risk following a cyber attack at Scouts Victoria.

The personal details of hundreds of people are under threat following a massive hacking job at Scouts Victoria.

The organisation confirmed names, addresses, credit card details and passport details of about 900 people had potentially been stolen during the cyber breach.

In a statement, Scouts Victoria said a hacker had gained access to staff email inboxes through a phishing scheme in late July or early August.

“Our IT team identified and blocked the unauthorised activity to protect information held on our systems,” the statement said.

“We engaged digital forensic and cyber security experts to investigate the incident and the data involved.”

Scouts Victoria also reported the breach to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and the Department of Human Resources.

The organisation’s “extensive” forensic investigation and security review found sensitive criminal history information, passport details, tax file numbers, court orders — including parenting orders — and copies of handwritten signatures were among the data potentially accessed during the breach.

“We have contacted individuals who we know may have been directly affected by this incident and will continue to work with them to address their concerns,” the statement said.

“We’ve also taken steps to ensure that incidents like this don’t (happen again).

“We take our privacy obligations very seriously and are investing significant resources into investigating the source of the incident.”

A spokesman for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner confirmed they had been notified of a breach but could not comment on the specifics.

“We advise individuals to respond quickly when they’re notified and take the appropriate action, such as changing passwords, checking accounts and credit reports and watching out for scams,” he said.

Last financial year the commission received reports of 1050 data breaches, many caused by phishing attacks or poor password practices.

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