Optus cyber-attack: how do you know if your identity has been stolen and what will happen to your data?

If you have been caught up in the Optus cyber-attack and are concerned about your personal data, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Photograph: Mark Baker/AP

The cyber-attack on Optus has left millions of customers with questions about what will happen to the private data that hackers may have obtained, and how they can protect themselves from identity fraud.

Optus announced on Thursday that hackers had obtained data including customers’ names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, and some customers’ home addresses and ID document numbers such as driver’s licence or passport numbers.