Australia's federal and state governments on September 28, 2022, called for Optus to pay for replacing identification documents including passports and driver's licenses to avoid identity fraud after 9.8 million of the telecommunications company's customers had personal data stolen by computer hackers. [AP Photo]
Australia could have tough new data protection laws in place this year in an urgent response to a cyberattack on a telecommunications company that stole the personal data of 9.8 million customers, the attorney-general said on Thursday.