Telstra who last week were spruiking how good their security was in an effort to get Optus customers to switch carriers, has confirmed that information on 30,000 current and former staff have obtained by hackers and exposed on the dark web.

Ironically, the Albanese Government has made no mention of the attack, instead they have chosen to single out Optus in an effort to damage the image of the Singapore owned carrier.

It was only last week that a senior executive involved in the Optus hack attack told ChannelNews that “It will only be a matter of time before Telstra will be hacked”.

The Telstra breach has seen the names and email addresses of Telstra staff posted on the dark web following a breach of a third-party service used by the national carrier.

The breach information was posted to the same online forum as the Optus customer data last week.

Telstra communications chief Alex Badenoch said in an internal staff note on the weekend the data breach came from a third party related to a rewards program for staff.

It’s not known whether Telstra reported the breach to the Federal Government.

Earlier today in an attack on Optus Bill Shorten The Minister For Government Services made no mention of the Telstra hack neither did Cyber Security Minister Clair O’Neil in her attack of Optus despite a note being issued to Telstra staff on Saturday the same day that O Neil was slamming Optus for their breach.

Telstra is working with the third party to investigate how the breach occurred” Telstra management claims.

“We understand this may cause some anxiety to our people, particularly in the current climate of heightened awareness around cybersecurity,” Ms Badenoch said in a note to staff on Saturday.

“If you wish to find out more about the breach, or to find out if your email address was exposed, please contact our cyber team … in the meantime, we remind you as always to remain vigilant about any unexpected communications.”