SYDNEY, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Australia's largest electricity retailer said on Wednesday that it is investigating a security breach after a hacker claimed to have accessed the details of 2 million customers.
Origin Energy said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange that it has commenced an investigation into a potential security incident that "may involve unauthorized access to some customers' data."
The company, which had an industry-leading 26.3 percent residential electricity market share as of March, stated that it does not believe the impacted data includes credit card or bank details.
"We understand an incident like this may raise concerns and acknowledge the impact of this uncertainty on Origin customers. Our investigations into this incident are occurring as a matter of urgency, and Origin will provide further updates as appropriate," it said.
The statement was issued after News Corp's newspaper, The Australian, reported that it had been sent a sample of 50 customer records containing names, addresses, emails, dates of birth, and bill history by the alleged hacker.
The hacker claimed to have accessed the data of around 2 million customers, but The Australian reported they have not issued a ransom demand.
Origin Energy's share price on the ASX was down 2.6 percent on Wednesday as of 1:25 p.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time. ■