Australia's Latitude says nearly 8 million drivers licence numbers stolen

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo/File Photo

(Reuters) -Australian consumer finance firm Latitude Group Holdings Ltd said hackers stole nearly 8 million Australian and New Zealand drivers licence numbers in one of the country's biggest confirmed data breaches, sending its shares lower.

The provider of credit cards and personal loans for some of Australia's biggest retailers added the cyber intruder also took about 53,000 passport numbers and more than 6 million customer records, mostly from between 2005 and 2013, in what it called a "distressing development".