Australian government slams Optus for cybersecurity breach

FILE PHOTO: A woman uses her mobile phone as she walks past in front of an Optus shop in Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz/File Photo

MELBOURNE (Reuters) -The Australian government on Sunday levelled its harshest criticism yet against Optus, the second-biggest telecoms company, for a cybersecurity breach that affected the equivalent of 40% of the country's population.

The government blamed Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications, for the breach, which affected 10 million accounts, urging the company to speed up its notification to 10,200 customers whose personal information was released in one of the country's biggest cybersecurity breaches.