EPA Victoria contact center hacked, thousands of customers' information stolen

Australian environmental regulator EPA Victoria has reported a significant data breach involving its external contact center, resulting in thousands of customers’ personal information theft. The compromised data includes names, email addresses, residential addresses, and phone numbers of approximately 2,800 public members, including Cardinia residents who reported odor pollution over the past several years.

The breach, which involved data from October 2021, September 2022, and October 2022, was carried out by an unknown third party. The external service provider informed EPA Victoria of the unauthorized access to its internal systems.

Upon discovering the breach, EPA Victoria immediately addressed the issue. Impacted individuals were notified via email on Thursday, July 11. "We have taken immediate action to rectify this as soon as becoming aware of the incident," stated an EPA Victoria spokesperson. "We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our stakeholders, partners, employees, and the community."

The spokesperson emphasized that EPA Victoria has collaborated with relevant government agencies and specialist security partners to eliminate the threat. Measures include purging unauthorized access, resetting passwords, and implementing robust security protocols to safeguard the affected systems. "The data and privacy of our community, stakeholders, and employees are important to us," they added.

EPA Victoria has established a dedicated security incident response team to manage the situation, ensuring the protection of the information they hold and maintaining their ability to protect the Victorian community and environment from pollution and waste.