Inside the super hack: what really happened and how to protect yourself
This week on a bonus episode of Prime Time, I sat down with Xavier O’Halloran from Super Consumers Australia to unpack the recent cyberattack that hit six of Australia’s major super funds.
Today’s podcast is a bonus episode — because getting this information out there matters. We’re talking about the recent super fund cyberattack, how you can protect yourself from being a target, and why it’s time to put pressure on your fund to lift the bar on multi-factor authentication.
In this eye-opening episode, I’m joined by Xavier O’Halloran from Super Consumers Australia to unpack the recent Superfund hack that affected some of the country’s largest funds, including AustralianSuper, ART, Rest, Hostplus, Insignia and later, CBUS. Together, we dig into how cybercriminals accessed accounts using stolen logins, why it wasn’t a breach of the super funds themselves, and why retirees were particularly vulnerable.
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE OF THE PODCAST HERE:
Highlights of the conversation:
Why most Aussies weren’t impacted—but some lost hundreds of thousands of dollars
What went wrong on the websites of superfunds that people couldn’t get into their websites, even if there fund wasn’t on the list affected?
The gaps in communication and system failures that left members seeing $0 balances
What multi-factor authentication is, why it matters, and how to turn it on
What rights you have if money is stolen from your super account
And what super funds (and consumers!) must do better moving forward
It’s part cautionary tale, part rally cry for better standards and protections in the super industry. If you’re nearing retirement or already in retirement phase and your money is with a super fund (which is a good proportion of Australians quite frankly), this is an episode that’s really worth listening to.
Other useful links
Preorder your copy of Prime Time: 27 Lessons for the New Midlife
Learn more about our Epic Retirement Flagship Course here
Listen to the Prime Time podcast on Apple Podcasts here or Spotify here
Visit the Epic Retirement Club on Facebook here
Sign up for my weekly Epic Retirement newsletter here
Order a copy of How to Have an Epic Retirement on Amazon here
Darn, for a minute I thought this was going to help us in the USA navigate all the personal data that DOGE stole.