Latitude Holdings, an Australian fintech company providing consumer finance services to major Australian retailers, has disclosed that it was the victim of a large-scale information theft on March 16th. The Melbourne-based firm reported that the theft resulted in the loss of 7.9 million Australian and New Zealand driver’s license numbers and about 53,000 passport numbers. Additionally, a further 6.1 million records dating back to at least 2005 were also stolen.
Latitude Holdings initially took its platform offline and informed authorities of the incident. The Australian Federal Police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre are now investigating the theft. The company has stated that customers who choose to replace their stolen ID documents will be reimbursed. Less than 100 customers had a monthly financial statement stolen, according to the company.
Following the announcement of the data breach, shares in the company dropped 2.5% to A$1.18, with the shares losing around 2.1% since the company reported the theft. The firm revealed last week that it had found further evidence of information theft.
Experts believe that the rise in cyberattacks in Australia is due to the country’s understaffed cybersecurity industry. In response to the increase in cyberattacks, authorities are stepping up efforts to bolster cybersecurity and implement stricter data-sharing rules to prevent breaches in the future.
The incident is part of a recent spate of cyberattacks on several Australian companies. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) recently reported that the number of cybersecurity incidents reported to the agency has increased by over 50% in the past year.
The cybersecurity industry in Australia is struggling to keep up with the rising number of cyberattacks. The government has acknowledged this issue and announced in its 2020 Cyber Security Strategy that it will invest over A$1.6 billion in cybersecurity over the next decade.
Latitude Holdings CEO, Ahmed Fahour, stated that the firm is “rectifying platforms impacted in the attack and have implemented additional security monitoring as we return to operations in the coming days.” Despite the negative initial response from investors to the news of the data breach, analysts suggest that much of the “doom and gloom was priced in” two weeks ago, with shares currently not being a strong buy but still attractive to some investors.
Latitude Holdings, an Australian fintech firm providing consumer finance services, has disclosed that it was the victim of a large-scale information theft on March 16th. The theft resulted in the loss of 7.9 million Australian and New Zealand driver’s license numbers, about 53,000 passport numbers, and a further 6.1 million records dating back to at least 2005.
The Australian Federal Police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre are investigating the incident. Despite the negative initial response from investors, analysts suggest that shares are still attractive to some investors. The incident is part of a recent spate of cyberattacks on several Australian companies, and experts believe that the rise in cyberattacks in Australia is due to the country’s understaffed cybersecurity industry.