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The real estate industry,which collects large amounts of personal information,has had two data breaches in as many months.

The breach was first reported byVice,which said a ransomware gang claimed to have taken employee and customer data including passport scans,credit card details,and loans data.

An LJ Hooker spokeswoman declined to detail the scope of the breach. However,she said the office took immediate action to notify customers and government cyber and data bodies,and work with their IT provider to understand what customer data was affected.

“Data security is regarded with the utmost importance and the data held by LJ Hooker’s independently owned and operated offices is what is legislatively required by all real estate businesses,” the spokeswoman said.

“The office will continue to liaise with their customers and evaluate and employ the best in systems and procedures to ensure protection of their customers’ data.”

It follows a data breach last month atHarcourts’ Melbourne City office,which potentially exposed personal details such as photo identification,phone numbers,addresses,signatures and bank details to hackers.

Security experts and tenant advocates have been warning of the risk of data breaches in the real estate industry,which also collects information as wide-ranging as rental history,passport details,payslips,bank statements,credit scores,and driver’s licence and vehicle registration details.

Tenants’ Union of NSW chief executive Leo Patterson Ross said prospective renters hand over so much personal information that could be used by cyber criminals.

“Even when you don’t get the property[and] you don’t get to move in – that data’s sitting there,” he said. “It’s a very attractive place for criminals to try and gain access to people’s personal information.”

Patterson Ross said renters had little choice but to hand over their details,because if they did not agree to the terms presented they would not get the property.

He called for firm guidance and enforcement about the types of information that can be collected,the storage of that information,and the purpose for which it is collected.

He suggested that when available tenants be allowed to use the digital ID the NSW government has been developing,as government has more accountability around the information it holds.

NSW Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello haspreviously backed better protection of tenants’ information and suggested a review of data sharing.

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