In the latest incident, a spreadsheet containing the names and email addresses of 1,500 BigPond ISP customers was posted online. The spreadsheet apparently had been given to a consultant to use for customer service training and coaching. In addition to emails, it contained customer problems and troubleshooting work performed.
"We have no reason to believe it contained passwords or credit or financial information. Our customers' privacy is paramount and the site was disabled within an hour of Telstra being made aware of it", a Telstra spokeswoman was quoted as saying in a report by The Australian website.
Telstra said it would inform the Privacy Commissioner, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, and the Australian Communications and Media Authority of the breach, according to The Australian.
In the earlier breach, personal details of 800,000 Telstra customers were exposed on the internet. The information included account details, passwords, user names, and email addresses and was displayed on a search page used by a Telstra customer service agencies that was not secure, according to the report.
The Privacy Commissioner launched a formal investigation into the earlier breach and said an investigation report would be available in late January.