Contact information for nearly 1,500 visitors to The Perth Mint has been stolen through a data breach of West Perth-based market research company Metrix Consulting.
Contact information for nearly 1,500 visitors to The Perth Mint has been stolen through a data breach of West Perth-based market research company Metrix Consulting.
The information included visitor names, email and home addresses, and telephone numbers, which the visitors had provided to undertake a tour with The Perth Mint.
It is the second major breach for the Mint in recent years, having experienced a data breach in 2018, involving 3,200 of its online customers.
Perth Mint acting chief executive Jane King said information for Perth Mint visitors who had booked or participated in a tour at the site was supplied to Metrix Consulting to conduct a feedback survey.
“The breach occurred when a Metrix Consulting staff member was the subject of a phishing email scam which infiltrated the company’s IT system,” Ms King said.
“We have acted quickly to notify our visitors whose information has been accessed and to apologise for any distress caused.
“We have also offered them identification support services.”
Metrix Consulting has activated its cyber incident response plan and is working with The Perth Mint to investigate the incident.
The Perth Mint said it had provided details of the breach to the WA Police Force and the Australian Information Commissioner’s office, as well as to the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
“We are continuing to work with Metrix Consulting and will provide further updates if additional information becomes available,” Ms King concluded.
In a separate statement, Metrix Consulting managing director Marquis Pohla said no financial information was taken from Perth Mint visitors.
“Like the many companies that all too often now find themselves targeted by unscrupulous hackers, we have been angered by this data breach – the first we have ever experienced in ten years of operation,” Mr Pohla said.
“At this stage, we have not identified any other client customer data as being impacted.
“We unreservedly apologise to The Perth Mint and its valued customers for any distress caused by this unfortunate accident.”
Mr Pohla said the company was building on its IT security practices with increased monitoring and data protection, facilitated by both technology and staff awareness.
