Origin Energy data breach linked to former call center employee in Manila
An investigation into the data breach affecting nearly 900,000 Origin Energy customers in Australia has reportedly led authorities to a former Accenture employee in Manila.
According to ABC News, the investigation has traced the incident to a call center in the Philippines, where Accenture operates facilities that provide customer service for Origin Energy.
The breach involved personal information belonging to current and former Origin customers. The compromised data reportedly included names, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, and billing histories.
Origin Energy became aware of a potential security incident in early July. The company initially did not consider the threat credible but later confirmed that information belonging to approximately 900,000 current and former customers had been accessed.
According to a report by the Australian Financial Review, the individual behind the hacking allegedly sought to extort money from Origin in exchange for returning the information.
Accenture Philippines, however, declined to comment on the reported connection when contacted for a statement.
“It is not appropriate for us to comment on Origin’s data security incident which we understand remains under active investigation,” the company said.
The Australian Federal Police said it is working with Origin Energy and relevant partners following the reported cyber incident. The agency did not publicly identify a suspect or provide further details about the investigation.
The incident came to public attention after the Australian newspaper outlet received a sample of 50 customer records reportedly taken from Origin's systems. The sample contained several types of personal information, prompting Origin to notify authorities about a possible data breach.
Origin has since advised customers to remain alert for scams and said affected individuals can access specialist identity and cybersecurity support services.
The investigation remains ongoing, and it has not been publicly established that Accenture Philippines' systems themselves were breached or that the company was responsible for the incident.
