Police are investigating a suspected serious data breach involving the private details of some 2,000 members of the South Australian Liberal Party.
Investigators are investigating allegations of identity theft of party officials, with names, addresses, phone numbers and other data allegedly stolen.
In an email to members on Friday, the party said it had “recently received a series of seemingly routine requests for certain membership lists.”
“These requests were subsequently found to be fraudulent, as they involved the electronic representation of the Liberal Party office staff authorized to receive membership lists under our constitution,” the email read.
State director of the SA Liberal Party, Alex May, said in a statement that the party is “disappointed that there has recently been unauthorized access to a number of membership lists.”
“The lists contained the addresses and telephone numbers of about 2,000 party members,” he said.
“No financial details were consulted. Affected members have been informed directly and the expert opinion received is that accessing these contact details is unlikely to create a risk of serious harm to individuals.
“As a party, we take these matters seriously and have reported the matter to the relevant authorities, including the police.”
Police released their statement on Friday, saying the violation was reported on Tuesday.
“The Eastern District Criminal Investigation Division recently opened an investigation into petty offenses involving the alleged disclosure of details of political party members,” the statement read.
Anyone with information please contact Crime Stoppers.