Following the discovery of a “compromised user credential” used to access its systems by Woolworths-owned MyDeal, a new breach exposing the data of over 2.2 million Australians occurred.
The disclosure comes just after Optus experienced a breach that exposed the personal information of up to 10 million consumers, leading to a revision of the nation’s consumer privacy laws.
Names, email addresses, phone numbers, delivery addresses, and certain customers’ dates of birth were among the information stolen from MyDeal’s system.
In a statement on Friday, Woolworths said that MyDeal is in the process of emailing all impacted consumers.
The statement added, “MyDeal clients who are not approached by MyDeal have not had their data obtained in the incident.”
“Woolworths Group and MyDeal have also started engaging with appropriate regulatory bodies and government agencies,” the statement continues.
According to MyDeal, they do not keep payment, driver’s license, or passport information on file, and this hack did not expose any customer account passwords or payment information.
MyDeal made it clear that neither their website nor their application, nor any other platforms operated by the Woolworths group, were affected.
Sean Senvirtne, the CEO of MyDeal, apologized for the “great anxiety” this may cause his consumers.
“We have strengthened network monitoring and taken swift action to detect and limit unauthorized access,” he added.
“We will continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities as we look into the issue, and we will keep our customers fully informed of any further developments that may affect them,” the company said.
The cyber security and privacy teams of Woolworths Group are collaborating with MyDeal, according to Pieter van der Merwe, the company’s chief security officer.
In May, Woolworths made the announcement that it will acquire the online retailer MyDeal.
The acquisition, according to Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci, “represents a further step towards offering a more holistic customer experience in food and daily requirements and fundamentally increases our marketplace capabilities, notably in general goods.”