Telstra's chairman says the telco's cyber security capabilities are "considerable" but he's avoiding complacency and hubris after the devastating Optus hack.
"It is easy for third parties to be critical of companies who have suffered devastating cyber-attacks such as happened recently to Optus," John Mullen told shareholders at Telstra's annual general meeting on Tuesday.
"Let me be blunt, however, and say it is easy to be critical when it isn't you in the firing line.
"We should all avoid hubris because no one can be complacent and no organisation can ever be 100 per cent sure that it is completely protected and safe."
New chief executive Vicki Brady said a Telstra third-party provider was recently hacked and some employee data was stolen, including her own information, but no customer data was lost.
Mr Mullen said Telstra supported the government re-examining how long companies such as Telstra were required to retain data from prior customers.
Ms Brady reaffirmed Telstra's guidance of $7.8 billion to $8b in underlying earnings in 2022/23 on total income of $23b to $25b.
Mr Mullen also announced he might not stand for re-election to the board when his term is up next October, depending on the strength of candidates to succeed him.
If he does stand for re-election, Mr Mullen said it would be with the intention of transitioning to a new chairman within six to 12 months of his next term.
A former DHL and TNT Group executive, Mr Mullen, 67, has been on the Telstra board for 14 years and chairman since 2016.
He told shareholders Telstra had been focusing on creating a better customer experience, hiring 2000 new team members across the country so it can answer calls in Australia rather than overseas.
It has also brought all of its licensee stores in-house, so they are now Telstra-owned and operated.
