A 19-year-old teenager was arrested by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in Sydney, Australia for allegedly using the information leaked in the Optus data breach to extort AUD 2,000 ($1,300) from victims, according to BleepingComputer.
According to the AFP, they will allege that the teenager was able to access 10,200 Optus stolen records posted online last month.
The Sydney teenager is said to use the data from the Optus breach to send a texting scam to 93 customers, as per Sky News.
AFP Implements Operation Guardian to Arrest the Offender
Last month, the Optus hackers stolen the data of nearly 2.1 million Australian Telecom customers. Now, a teenager from Sydney used 10,200 of those records.
The suspect contacted the affected customers through an SMS. He threatened them that he would sell the data to other hackers unless they made a payment of AUD 2,000 ($1,300).
The AFP was alerted of the text messaging scam. They were eventually able to trace it to a bank account bearing the name of the suspect.
The teenager used the Commonwealth Bank of Australia account in order to get the ransom money.
The offender's account was identified by the AFP. The authorities then obtained information about the holder from the bank. Following this, the authorities launched Operation Guardian last week.
The teenager arrested by the law enforcement from the Operation Guardian was wearing a blue Champion jumper and blue jeans. The arrest happened on Thursday.
A mobile phone, which was found to be linked to the scam was found by the police in the house of the teenager in Rockdale.
Meanwhile, none of the 93 customers, who was targeted by the alleged suspect, paid ransom, according to Assistant Commissioner Justin Gough from the AFP's Cyber Command.
According to authorities, the suspect is possibly working his way through the list of the released data records. As the teenager was already the arrested, this has prevented the scam from happening to other Australians.
Read Also: Oppo Comes To Australia, Enlists Optus To Sell Its Phones
AFP is Working to Track the Offender Behind Optus Data Breach
The arrested teenager allegedly targeted 93 individuals whose personal information was exposed during the Optus data breach. He sent blackmailing messages to the customers.
According to BleepingComputer, the offender is now facing two charges. He violated section 474.14 (2) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) for using a telecommunication network intending to commit a serious offence. It is punishable with up to 10 years of imprisonment.
He also violated section 192K of the Crime Act 1900 (NSW) for dealing with identification information. It is punishable with a maximum of 7 years imprisonment.
According to Asst Commissioner Gough, the suspect was facing "serious charges." The AFP is working to keep on protecting the Australians who are impacted by the Optus breach.
"We made it absolutely clear that there would be no tolerance for the criminal use of this stolen data," said Asst Commissioner Gough.
Sky News noted that the AFP is continuously implementing Operation Hurricane. It is an operation launched to investigate the alleged offenders who committed the Optus data breach.
Related Article: Optus Confirms Data Breach; 2.1 Million Government ID Numbers are Exposed
