Optus will not make public the findings of a "forensic review" of the data breach impacting nearly 10 million customers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The telco said on Monday it had contracted Deloitte to undertake the review and confirmed a total of 2.1 million customers will need to have at least one identity number updated.
Around 1.2 million Optus customer ID numbers stolen were current, including passport and driving licence numbers, the company said 12 days after its customer database breach was revealed.
Some further 900,000 customers had expired identity numbers revealed that may need to be addressed.
Data for about 7.7 million individuals or businesses did not contain valid or current ID numbers.
A spokesperson said they were working with more than 20 different governments and licensing authorities.
Customers reported being contacted by the telco from Sunday via email and text messages to advise which documents were compromised. But others say they have yet to hear anything.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said Optus had a problem with a lack of communication to customers and to government.
"It's extraordinary that we don't yet know any Medicare numbers or Centrelink numbers that may have been compromised," she said in a television interview on Monday.
"I don't think the company is doing a particularly good job either with its customers or providing the government with the information we need to keep people safe."
Deloitte's review will be an "independent" assessment of the cyberattack and circumstances surrounding it, the company claims. In a statement, embattled Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said the review would help understand how it occurred and how the telco can prevent it from occurring again.
"We're deeply sorry that this has happened and we recognise the significant concern it has caused many people. While our overwhelming focus remains on protecting our customers and minimising the harm that might come from the theft of their information, we are determined to find out what went wrong."
READ MORE:
The review could help others in the private and public sector that hold sensitive data, she suggested.
"I am committed to rebuilding trust with our customers and this important process will assist those efforts."
Liberal frontbencher and former home affairs minister Karen Andrews said Optus had questions to answer, but the government's response had also been inadequate.
"I'm not going to absolve Optus from its corporate responsibilities, but there is a role for the government, and I think in this instance, they failed quite dismally," Ms Andrews said in a radio interview on Monday.
Harley Dennett
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
