Melbourne, Australia: The Australian telecommunication firm, Telstra has apologized after posting the personal information of thousands of customers online.

The company stated that the disclosure of some unlisted customers’ names, phone numbers, and addresses was an error and not the result of a hostile cyberattack. According to reports, up to 130,000 customers were impacted.

Telstra noted that, a “misalignment of databases” meant the details of some unlisted customers were made available via directory assistance or the White Pages.

“For the customers impacted we understand this is an unacceptable breach of your trust. We’re sorry it occurred, and we know we have let you down,” Telstra executive, Mr. Michael Ackland remarked.

Telstra cited that the data would be retrieved from the internet. “Affected customers were being contacted and offered free services to combat identity theft,” as per the reports.

“We are conducting an internal investigation to better understand how it happened and to protect against it happening again,”  Mr. Ackland further added.

The improper management of client data follows Optus and Medibank data breaches when poor security procedures allowed hackers to take the personal information of thousands of customers.

As the Government considers stricter regulations on the handling of sensitive information and data hacking, the Home Affairs Minister, Ms. Clare O’Neil, has previously criticised companies for failing to adequately protect client data. The Optus and Medibank incidents sparked concerns about why firms kept sensitive data even after they no longer needed it.

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