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Bloom Hearing Australia data breach

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is aware of a cyber incident impacting Bloom Hearing Australia. 

Bloom Hearing Australia’s investigation into the cyber incident has found the personal details of a number of its clients were compromised, including images of Australian and foreign passports. 

Bloom Hearing Australia has contacted impacted individuals directly.

Affected Australian passports are still safe to use for international travel. Your passport number cannot be used to obtain a new passport. Robust controls are used to protect passports from identity takeover, including sophisticated facial-recognition technology.  

See our page on protecting against scams and identity theft for more advice on how to safeguard your personal information.  

You can also seek help from IDCARE, a not-for-profit organisation that specialises in providing advice and support to Australians on how to respond to identity theft.     

More advice on what you can do to protect yourself and your family from cyber security incidents is available on the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s (ACSC) webpage at: www.cyber.gov.au.

If you’re a foreign passport holder whose personal details have been compromised, you should contact the government that issued your passport for further advice what to do.  Please refer to DFAT’s list of foreign government representatives based in Australia.   

 

Article Date:
07 November 2024

Australian citizenship - what you need to know

You need to be an Australian citizen to get an Australian passport.

For questions about Australian citizenship and becoming an Australian citizen, visit the Home Affairs website: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citizenship/become-a-citizen.

To find out how to prove your Australian citizenship when applying for a passport, visit the citizenship page on our website.

Article Date:
05 November 2024

Perfection Fresh data breach

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is aware of a cyber incident impacting Perfection Fresh. 

Perfection Fresh’s investigation into the cyber incident has found the personal details of a number of their clients were compromised, including images of Australian passports. 

Perfection Fresh has contacted impacted individuals directly.

Affected Australian passports are still safe to use for international travel. Your passport number cannot be used to obtain a new passport. Robust controls are used to protect passports from identity takeover, including sophisticated facial-recognition technology.  

See our page on protecting against scams and identity theft for more advice on how to safeguard your personal information.  

You can also seek help from IDCARE, a not-for-profit organisation that specialises in providing advice and support to Australians on how to respond to identity theft.     

More advice on what you can do to protect yourself and your family from cyber security incidents is available on the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s (ACSC) webpage at: www.cyber.gov.au.

 

Article Date:
30 October 2024

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