Origin Energy confirms a data breach affecting about 900,000 current and former customers, with personal information potentially accessed.

The company says the exposure to data was tied to last week’s hacking incident and that roughly 900,000 Australians had their data stolen.

Origin notes the breach was disclosed three weeks after initial warnings and affected both current and former customers.

Authorities are involved in the investigation, and there has been no public indication of a ransom or settlement at this time.

Customers are urged to enable two-step authentication on email and other accounts to reduce scam risk.

Origin began investigating a potential security threat in early July, with new evidence on July 22 confirming an intrusion.

An initial threat email on July 2 was deemed non-credible until July 22, when evidence suggested data access and prompted disclosure.

Review of a suspected threat continued through early July, but credibility was only established with the July 22 information of a possible breach.

CEO Frank Calabria apologized to customers and urged vigilance against suspicious activity while the company continues its incident review.

Calabria emphasizes safeguarding information and rebuilding trust as the investigation proceeds.

Warns that stolen data could be exploited by other threat actors for scams even if the data itself isn’t disclosed.

Origin says it began notifying affected customers and offering identity protection and cyber support services.