| North Shore: | Macarthur: | 52/6 Herbert Street, ST LEONARDS 2065 |
351 Oran Park Drive, ORAN PARK 2570 |
Local Call: 1300 721 576
Phone: 02 8007 2930
ua.moc.egdetroppus@troppus
| North Shore: | Macarthur: | 52/6 Herbert Street, ST LEONARDS 2065 |
351 Oran Park Drive, ORAN PARK 2570 |
Local Call: 1300 721 576
Phone: 02 8007 2930
ua.moc.egdetroppus@troppus
Long ago password best practices became more important than ever. Some key elements are;
Without a password manager you can use sites like https://neal.fun/password-game/ to make passwords. Enjoy!
As 2023 comes to a close, we would like to thank all the business and staff we’ve worked with this year!
This year Supportedge will be taking a break from the 22nd of December through to the 5th of January. During this time we will be on-hand for any business-critical issues, just leave a message by ringing our phone 02 8007 2930.
We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year!
IMPORTANT: The information below is specific to our clients. If you are not a Supportedge client, please contact your service provider for specific information to your situation.
IMPORTANT: This information was updated 30th September 2022 and should be considered out of date as of 1st October 2022.
Supportedge has NEVER partnered with Optus to deliver services to our clients. Nothing purchased from Supportedge will be affected by this data breach. But we do understand our clients purchase products and services directly from suppliers and this is where the information below may help.
But Supportedge does partner with telecom providers who do wholesale Optus products. This is not a concern for our clients. Our telecom partners don’t forward on client information to Optus. Our largest partner who resells Optus services is Exetel. Exetel have been proactively switching to Telstra products for over a year now and very few of our clients are still using Optus infrastructure via Exetel.
Supportedge has been monitoring this situation closely and delaying the advice below waiting on more detailed information from the government and Optus. The breach was announced 7 days ago but information is not forthcoming. We have made the following recommendations with this in mind.
Government information is here: https://www.oaic.gov.au/updates/news-and-media/advice-on-optus-data-breach and here https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/recent-scam-activity/optus-data-breach-scams
Optus information is here: https://www.optus.com.au/support/cyberattack
Here is what we do and don’t know about the breach.
Optus announced a massive data breach on 22nd September 2022. Potentially the biggest breach in Australian history. Optus reports the breach was discovered by unusual network traffic and was stopped at this time. This is consistent with how most breaches are discovered. However, we have not been able to find a public release of the time the breach started. It’s unlikely to have started when Optus announced the attack.
Optus have reported the data breach effects 9.8 million current and past customers from 2017 to now.
Optus have advised, as a precaution to keep alert from scammers contacting you. We should be doing this all the time anyway, but this won’t help in this situation. If what Optus are saying is correct, the attackers already have more than enough information to do damage. They don’t need to contact you or try to scam you.
There are reports the attackers are sorry and have deleted all the stolen data. Unfortunately there is no way to determine if this is true or correct.
Here is what you can do and what you can’t do.
If you have ever received a bill or invoice from Optus (ie with a Optus logo in the corner) you should go to Service NSW and get a new licence with a new licence number. Optus suggest calling 133937 to find out if you are personally involved in the data breach. Because Optus’ advice on this issue is vague, our recommendation is to change your drivers licence number even if your Optus accounts were closed before 2017 or if when calling Optus, they tell you your personal information is safe.
If you have given your passport details to Optus, or if you can’t recall whether you have or haven’t given your passport details you should get a new passport in addition to your new drivers licence.
Both actions above should be completed as soon as possible.
Optus says your account login credentials were not compromised and you don’t need to change your password. This is likely to be correct, but you should change your Optus password as a precaution. As with all passwords make sure it’s unique to only your Optus account.
Services like Equifax will monitor if a loan is trying to be established in your name. You should consider signing up for one of these services. Optus are offering 12 months free service with Equifax but they will contact you directly if you are eligible for this offer.
Consider blocking access to your credit information. Information is here on how to start this process: https://www.idcare.org/fact-sheets/credit-bans-australia
If you’re an Optus customer your birthday was also lost. This is a concern as nothing can be done about this. Your date of birth is extremely valuable private information.
Final thoughts.
Big companies get attacked and breached all the time. Sony, Microsoft, Apple, Uber, just to name a few all have had data breaches. These companies have significantly more resources to protect data than Optus does, and the breaches still have occurred. It is part of the world we are in today. But transparency and information is key, these breaches need to be publicly advised and transparent to customers. This transparency helps customers take actions to protect themselves.
The “cloud” has become a household name in the past couple of years, but what does it actually mean and what can it do for your business and home? According to info-world.com: “Cloud computing encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends IT’s existing capabilities… Cloud computing is at an early stage, with a motley crew of providers large and small delivering a slew of cloud-based services, from full-blown applications to storage services to spam filtering.” Howstuffworks.com describes what cloud computing does: “In a cloud computing system, there’s a significant workload shift. Local computers no longer have to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to running applications. The network of computers that make up the cloud handles them instead. Hardware and software demands on the user’s side decrease. The only thing the user’s computer needs to be able to run is the cloud computing system’s interface software, which can be as simple as a Web browser, and the cloud’s network takes care of the rest.” An everyday example of cloud computing, that most people have encountered, can be found within web-based email accounts like, gmail, hotmail and yahoo. Your own computer only [&hellip
Core Values Integrity Quality Reliability Trust Friendly Motto Dedicated to providing the right technological solution for your business. Supportedge is a specialist IT consulting company. Our goal is to give you the very best advice and service available, tuned to your specific business. Our team works closely with a range of businesses and staff, in a variety of ways; although we fix and maintain computer systems and networks, those are only a couple of the ways in which we can promote efficiency, and ultimately, growth. We believe in close partnerships with our customers. We believe in great personal relationships and close partnerships with our clients, as we recognise that each workplace is different. However, as time goes on, information technology becomes more important to all business prospects, and we are honoured to spearhead this area on behalf of our eminent clientele. Supportedge first started trading in July 2000. Our core service area extends from Lane Cove to Mosman, but we have customers throughout Sydney. We offer on-site, remote and telephone support. At Supportedge we maintain a heavy focus on on-site support and this gives us the opportunity to familiarise ourselves with our customers’ systems, and ultimately provide the [&hellip
Here is a list of some useful links: Generate strong passwords: passwordsgenerator.net Online malware scanner and statistics: virustotal.com
| North Shore: | Macarthur: | 52/6 Herbert Street, ST LEONARDS 2065 |
351 Oran Park Drive, ORAN PARK 2570 |
