Australia probing public release of Premier Albanese’s contact details

Australia is probing the public release of contact details belonging to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, opposition leader Sussan Ley, and other prominent Australians, Ette Media reported.

The mobile phone numbers of a number of politicians were posted online by a US-based website that "users can trial for free" and claims to have the mobile numbers and emails of millions of professionals, according to ABC News on Tuesday.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the government had taken "steps to address the numbers being on it."

"We've notified authorities and that is being worked through, but obviously, there is concern," he said.

The Australian Federal Police also "formally sought for the prime minister's contact details to be removed" but the name of the website has not been revealed.

Ley's office said the developments were "obviously concerning … we have asked the website to remove the information."

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has said he "only became aware of the site" Tuesday morning.

No one was "prank calling," he said as his contact has also been reportedly publicized.

"We want to make sure that we're protecting that [data], but this is … the age that we live in -- technology is rapidly changing," he said.

"It is not clear how long the information has been available online, but Mr. Albanese's team has been aware of the matter since last month," the ABC News reported.