Telstra privacy breach: publication of customer personal information on the internet

From February 2012 until May 2013 the names, addresses and phone numbers (including silent numbers) of 15,775 Telstra customers were publicly available online. In response to a complaint from a journalist who had discovered the personal information online, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) carried out investigations, handing down their findings on the eve of the commencement of the new privacy law regime. The focus of this article is on the OAIC investigation.

Background to data breach

Telstra engaged a third party provider to host its retail customers' personal information on the third party provider's servers.