280,000 Australians at Risk After Cyber Hack Breaches iiNet

Around 10,000 usernames, street addresses and 1,700 modem passwords were also accessed, though no banking or ID documents were compromised.

An image of internet provider iiNet's home page including a notice of a cyber attack incident, taken in Brisbane, Australia on Aug. 19, 2025. Daniel Y. Teng/The Epoch Times

Major internet provider iiNet has confirmed that an unknown third party gained unauthorised access to its order management system, exposing hundreds of thousands of Australian customer records.

The company’s parent, TPG Telecom, said the incident was contained to iiNet’s internal ordering platform, but acknowledged the scale of the breach has left many customers at risk.

Initial investigations suggest that around 280,000 active iiNet email addresses and approximately 20,000 active landline numbers were accessed.

In addition, about 10,000 usernames, street addresses and phone numbers, along with 1,700 modem set-up passwords, may also have been compromised. Affected records also include a number of inactive email addresses and phone numbers.

TPG stressed that no financial details were exposed in the attack. The system does not store credit card numbers, banking information or personal identification documents such as driver’s licences or passports.

“We unreservedly apologise to the iiNet customers impacted by this incident,” said TPG Telecom CEO Iñaki Berroeta.

An image of internet provider iiNet's home page including a notice of a cyber attack incident, taken in Brisbane, Australia on Aug. 19, 2025. Daniel Y. Teng/The Epoch Times

Breach Traced to Employee Credentials

The intrusion was detected on Aug. 16, prompting iiNet to immediately activate its incident response plan.

Early findings indicate the breach was enabled through stolen account credentials belonging to one employee. The compromised account allowed the intruder to access the order management system used to create and track iiNet service requests, including NBN connections.

External IT and cybersecurity specialists have been brought in to help identify how much information was exposed and to secure the system from further intrusion.

“Our teams have been working around the clock to understand the full scope of customer data affected by this breach, and how this might impact them,” TPG said.

The company is contacting affected customers, and offering guidance on monitoring suspicious activity, as well as increasing awareness of unsolicited emails, texts or calls. A dedicated support hotline has also been established.

Authorities and Regulators Involved

TPG has formally notified the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the National Office of Cyber Security, the Australian Signals Directorate, and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. It has also reported the matter to the ASX.

“We do not currently have any evidence to suggest an impact to our broader systems or other customers,” TPG said in its statement.

iiNet has added a ticker to its website alerting users to the cyber incident and directing them to its support page for further information.

TPG Telecom is Australia’s second-largest internet provider, running the TPG, Vodafone, iiNet and Internode brands. The scale of this incident highlights the growing risks faced by major telecommunications firms and their customers amid a volatile cyber landscape.