Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin has opened up about the telco’s data breach last year, calling the perpetrator “a motivated skilled cyber criminal who crafted the attack just for Optus”.

Bayer Rosmarin spoke at the AFR Business Summit this morning, and used the opportunity to swat down reports that the hack was a “casual crime of opportunity” or “a bit of an effortless crime”.

“I can tell you that it was perpetrated by a determined, motivated and skilled cyber criminal who targeted up this and had knowledge of our systems,” she said.

Despite this, she denies that Optus were lax or that it’s an easy system to hack.

“That’s not the case,” she said.

“It’s much harder and scarier to accept that even well-meaning well resourced companies who do prioritise protecting their customers can also be attacked.”

Bayer Rosmarin also said the hacker stole “information that is regularly published in the white pages and on people’s Facebook profiles.”

“Not a single customer has suffered any financial loss or fallen victim to a crime through misuse of the data,” she declared.