In March 2023, hackers managed to steal the data of around 14 million Latitude customers/ex-customers. Latitude is one of many large companies to experience a data breach recently, along with companies such as Optus, Medibank, Uber, DoorDash, and Dialog (owned by SingTel – the Singaporean telecommunications conglomerate which owns Optus).
The Cyber Breach is still under investigation so Latitude haven’t provided the technical details of how the cyber attack occurred. The stolen data includes names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, email addresses, and for some customers, passport, drivers licence, and Medicare numbers.
If your data was stolen in the Latitude data breach, you will be contacted by Latitude (likely via email). Those who have had their data leaked will be at heightened risk of being scammed and having their identity stolen. Here’s a few things you can do to help reduce this risk.
- While passwords weren’t stolen, it’s always good practice and a precautionary measure to reset passwords with associated accounts.
- Enable 2FA (two-factor authentication) on associated accounts.
- Contact your bank and superannuation company and notify them that your details have been compromised and request that they do extra checks until the ID you provided Latitude expires.
- Replace your drivers licence (Latitude has emailed those affected and in the email said they will reimburse those affected).
- Be particularly vigilant of scams and any unusual activity that might suggest that someone is trying to use your identity.
- Consider whether you will continue to use Latitude or cancel your service. If you cancel your service this can send a message to Latitude and other companies that they need to invest in protecting your information and improving their Cyber Protection or else they will lose customers. Alternatively stay with Latitude because you believe they will improve and you value the service they provide.
