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- Latitude Financial (LFS) confirms cyber attackers managed to steal 7.9 million Australian and New Zealand driver’s licence numbers from its system
- The cybercriminals also stole 53,000 passport numbers, and less than 100 customers had their monthly financial statements stolen
- LFS is undertaking a comprehensive customer care program and says it will reimburse customers choosing to replace their stolen ID documents
- The company says it is rectifying platforms impacted in the attack, implementing additional security monitoring as operations recommence in the coming days
- LFS shares are down 3.31 per cent and trading at $1.17 at 12:51 pm AEDT
Latitude Financial (LFS) has confirmed cyber attackers managed to steal 7.9 million Australian and New Zealand driver’s licence numbers from its system.
Of the licence numbers accessed, Latitude said 40 per cent were provided to the company in the past ten years.
The cybercriminals also stole 53,000 passport numbers, and less than 100 customers had their monthly financial statements stolen.
Of further concern, the hackers pilfered 6.1 million records dating back to 2005 that included customer names, addresses, telephone numbers and birth dates.
The amount of information stolen is significantly higher than the 103,000 ID documents and 225,000 customer records the company initially reported stolen from two of its service providers when it reported the crime on March 16.
LFS CEO Ahmed Fahour said today’s confirmation of the extent of the hack was “hugely disappointing”, and the company apologised unreservedly.
“We continue to work around the clock to safely restore our operations,” Mr Fahour said.
“We are rectifying platforms impacted in the attack and have implemented additional security monitoring as we return to operations in the coming days.”
Latitude said it was undertaking a comprehensive customer care program to support affected individuals and would reimburse customers who chose to replace their stolen ID document.
No further suspicious activity has been observed in the company’s systems since March 16, but moving forward, Mr Fahour urged customers to be vigilant and on the lookout for any suspicious account activity.
While the company’s forensic review continues, Mr Fahour said customers could continue to make transactions on their Latitude credit cards.
LFS shares were down 3.31 per cent and trading at $1.17 at 12:51 pm AEDT.
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