Sydney: Investigators examining the recent cyberattack on Australian energy company Origin Energy have traced the incident to a former employee of Accenture who was based at the company’s Manila call centre in the Philippines. The breach is believed to have exposed personal information belonging to nearly 900,000 current and former Origin customers.

Origin Energy works with Accenture to operate its offshore call centres, including its Manila operations. According to reports, the former employee allegedly demanded money from the energy company. The demand was made in exchange for returning the stolen customer information. Accenture has confirmed details of the report but has declined to provide further comment. Origin has also refrained from commenting because the matter remains under criminal investigation.

The incident came to wider attention after a hacker reportedly provided a sample containing information from 50 customers. The records included names, residential addresses, email addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and billing histories. Origin subsequently notified authorities about the suspected data breach.

The company later estimated that information belonging to approximately 900,000 current and former customers may have been accessed. Origin said it became aware of a possible security threat in early July but initially did not consider the warning credible.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is continuing to investigate the incident. Investigators are working with Origin and other relevant parties to collect evidence, identify those responsible and prevent further criminal activity.

Origin has apologised to affected customers and urged them to remain alert for scams or suspicious activity. The company has also said that specialist identity and cybersecurity support services are available to customers who may have been affected.