Origin Energy hack hits 900,000 current and former customers

Origin Energy has found about 900,000 current and former customers’ records have been accessed in a data breach.

Australia’s largest energy retailer said today it was contacting and supporting customers whose information has been accessed. Origin’s chief executive, Frank Calabria, said the company was still reviewing the incident, revealed last week.

Calabria warned customers to watch out for suspicious activity and a heightened risk of scams. He said Australian government agencies had been notified, adding that this is a criminal matter that is subject to an ongoing investigation by the relevant authorities, and they are constrained by the level of information we can provide about the incident at this time.

The company last week dismissed reports it had reached a deal with its hacker to avoid data leaks. After The Australian published claims from a person claiming to be behind the hack on Friday, an Origin spokesperson said the company notes there is considerable media speculation in relation to the data security incident they are actively managing, their investigation is ongoing, and currently have no further updates.