Australian financial company Latitude Group Holdings claimed a cyberattack in which attackers stole 7.9 million Australian and New Zealand driver's license numbers and froze the company's operations. This was reported by Reuters on March 27.
The cyberattack also led to a 2.5% drop in the companies' shares due to investor fears.
Initially the attack became known on March 16. At that time, hackers managed to steal 103,000 driver's license numbers. Analysis showed that this number has now reached 7.9 million numbers. According to the company, hackers also accessed 53,000 passport numbers and more than 6 million customer records from 2005 to 2013.
The company described the cyberattack as a "very troubling event." Latitude Group Holdings is conducting an internal investigation to determine the cause and circumstances of the incident.
After the announcement of the cyberattack, Latitude stock fell 2.5 percent with the overall market unchanged (.AXJO) as investors feared the risk might be worse than previously thought. However, Latitude said the company's insurance covers cybersecurity risks.
"Whenever investors hear about a data breach, they tend to assume the worst," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index.
Latitude Group Holdings Limited specializes in consumer loans, credit cards, mortgages, insurance and other financial products in Australia and New Zealand.
