Meriton targeted in cyber attack as breaches surge across sector

Australian serviced apartment operator Meriton has become the latest major company to disclose a significant cyber breach, confirming that hackers accessed data on nearly 2000 guests and staff. The incident underscores mounting concerns about digital security across Australian corporations as major companies grapple with rising attack rates.

The breach, which occurred earlier in the year, exposed "incident reports" detailing injuries sustained at Meriton's properties across Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Canberra. The company said 35.6 gigabytes of data was potentially compromised, though it stressed that "very little was sensitive information" and, crucially, no credit card or payment details were accessed.

Meriton moved quickly to contain the fallout, notifying all 1889 potentially affected individuals and reporting the incident to both the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. The company is now working with leading cybersecurity and forensic firms to implement enhanced protections and deploy extensive network monitoring across its systems.

The breach arrives amid a broader surge in digital attacks targeting Australian businesses. Consumer finance company Latitude Group recently revealed that 14 million Australian and New Zealand customers had been exposed in a hack that snared nearly 8 million drivers licences, over 53,000 passport numbers, and millions of personal records including names, addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth.

That incident, detected earlier in the month, sparked fresh calls from consumer watchdogs for corporate Australia to bolster its defences. The breach comes on the heels of high-profile attacks on major companies including Medibank and Optus, which exposed millions of Australians' personal details.

Last year painted a stark picture. Official figures show that more than $569 million in scams were reported to authorities, though experts warn this represents just 13 per cent of actual losses. The true scale of compromise is far wider than reported figures suggest.

The series of attacks has triggered urgent warnings from consumer advocates, who are pressing business leaders to strengthen cybersecurity protocols and redouble efforts to protect customer data. The breaches underscore how vulnerability now cuts across sectors—from household-name retailers to hospitality operators to financial institutions.

Meriton said there is no evidence the stolen data has been misused or released publicly, offering some reassurance to affected guests and employees. The company remains confident in its new security measures and commitment to preventing future incidents.