Origin Energy confirms some customers' bank account details accessed in hack

Origin Energy has confirmed that approximately 60 customers had their bank account details accessed in a cyber hack last July. This follows a significant cybersecurity incident that affected around 900,000 current and former customers. The July breach involved the theft of personal information such as names, addresses, dates of birth, contact phone numbers, account details, and other personal circumstances.

Additionally, the hacker gained access to the last four digits of a credit card or the last three digits of a bank account for some customers. A further 15,000 customers had their details linked to government concession schemes or programs compromised. The criminal investigation into the breach is ongoing, with CEO Frank Calabria stating that they have reviewed the information accessed by the hacker and are prioritizing notifications to affected customers and providing necessary support.

Origin Energy has taken steps to improve system security to prevent future incidents. The company attributes the breach to a former Accenture employee in Manila, with the cyber attack traced to a call center in the Philippines. The Australian media reported the hack in July after receiving a sample of 50 customer records from the hacker, which led to the company alerting authorities.

This breach is considered the largest known incident for an Australian energy retailer, surpassing a similar incident in September 2022 at EnergyAustralia. Origin Energy customers reported bill payment delays before the breach was confirmed. Despite these incidents, Origin is not the only major Australian company to experience a security breach; Qantas faced a major hack in 2025, while Optus and Medibank were targeted in 2022.

Recently, Quest Apartment Hotels became the latest business to suffer a data breach affecting customer information.