First National hit by a data breach exposing personal information of job applicants

• The CV and cover letters of almost 2000 job applicants had been exposed online.
• The exposed information includes job applicants’ full names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and other personal details such as education and previous employment information on resumes.

The real estate network First National, which is based in Australia, reported that the information of job applicants were leaked online. First National has over 400 offices across Australia, New Zealand, and Vanuatu, however, the number of places which have been affected by the incident still remains unknown.

What happened?

Gareth Llewellyn reported to First National via a Twitter post that CV and cover letters of individuals who had applied for a job with First National had been exposed online.

A spokesperson for First National told ZDNet on January 8, 2019, that the company is currently dealing with the incident and could not provide any further information. “The network at the moment is dealing with the appropriate authorities,” the spokesperson said.

What was compromised?

The exposed information includes job applicants’ full names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and other personal details such as education and previous employment information on resumes.

What was OAIC’s comment on the incident?

ZDNet reached out to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for a comment regarding the First National incident. In response, a spokesperson for OAIC said that "in cases where the office is made aware of a potential privacy breach or notifiable data breach, it may engage with the company to establish the facts of the matter."

However, the spokesperson did not comment on any specifics regarding the reported information leak.