What happened
In November 2021 Frontier Software, the external payroll provider used by the South Australian Government, was hit by the Conti ransomware group, which stole and then published employee payroll data. The SA Government said the breach affected up to 80,000 public servants (initial estimates ranged from about 38,000 to 80,000) [frontier-bleeping]. Exposed data included names, dates of birth, home addresses, tax file numbers, bank account details, remuneration, tax withheld and superannuation information [frontier-bleeping].
Timeline
- 2021-11-13 — Frontier Software’s systems were compromised by Conti ransomware [frontier-bleeping].
- 2021-12-10 — The SA Government publicly disclosed the breach and began notifying affected employees [frontier-bleeping], [frontier-acs].
Current status
Disclosed. The “people affected” figure reflects the government’s stated upper estimate of up to 80,000; the earlier range is noted above. Figures are as reported by the government and credible media.
Why it matters
A third-party payroll provider became the single point of failure for an entire state government’s workforce — and the exposed fields (tax file numbers, bank accounts) are among the most sensitive for identity-theft and fraud risk.