Suspect Charged After ClubsNSW Data Breach

A 46-year-old man has been arrested and charged with blackmail in connection with the extensive ClubsNSW data breach. The breach exposed the personal information of over a million individuals who visited clubs across NSW, potentially including high-profile politicians.

Authorities were alerted to a website publishing sensitive data obtained during club sign-ins. This included facial recognition details, driver’s license scans, addresses, and more. West Tradies in Mt Druitt, City of Sydney RSL, and Fairfield RSL are among the affected clubs.

Police swiftly identified “persons of interest”, and ultimately charged the suspect with blackmail.

“We will investigate a number of different types of offences, including the offence of blackmail under the Crimes Act, and possession of personal information for unlawful purposes,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Grant Taylor.

Authorities are working to contain the breach and shut down the website. Individuals potentially affected are advised to await further information from authorities.

ClubsNSW expressed concern and confirmed the involvement of a third-party IT provider. The website responsible for the leak claims unpaid developers are behind the exposure, alleging they were tasked with developing software for casinos and clubs.

Outabox, the implicated IT provider, acknowledges a cybersecurity incident and potential compromise of personal information. The company denies the allegations made on the website, labeling them false and defamatory.

A spokesperson for Outabox commented, “We are aware of a malicious website carrying a number of false statements designed to harm our business and defame our senior staff. We believe this is linked and urge people not to repeat false and reputationally damaging misinformation.”

Source: 9News

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May 3, 2024 — by Tony Bitzionis