By Alice Uribe
SYDNEY-- The FBI is working with Australian authorities to investigate a data breach at Optus, one of the country's largest telecoms companies.
Australia's Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said Tuesday that the government, the Australian Federal Police and other government agencies, were working closely to investigate the breach.
"The Australian Federal Police is taking this very seriously with a large number of officers involved working with other federal government agencies and state and territory police and with the FBI in the United States and with industry," Mr. Dreyfus told a media conference.
Optus, an Australian unit of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., last week said it first became aware of the breach on Sep. 21, and that it could have exposed customer information dating back to 2017, including names, dates of birth and phone numbers.
The AFP on Monday said it was gathering evidence from the breach of Optus data, and was working closely with overseas law enforcement to identify the offenders behind the cyberattack.
Optus couldn't be reach for comment Tuesday.
Write to Alice Uribe at alice.uribe@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-27-22 0134ET
