The private mobile phone numbers of several key Australian figures - including the Prime Minister, the Opposition Leader and CEOs of major corporations - have been found on a US-based website operated by an AI-driven contact search platform. This exposure raises serious concerns about how artificial intelligence and web scraping tools are being used to compile and publicly share sensitive personal information.
ContactOut, the site publishing the details, was founded by a former Australian university student and received early investment from a prominent Australian tech accelerator. Although the company promotes itself as a tool for recruiters, its AI-based data collection methods appear to blur the line between legitimate sourcing and privacy intrusion. The website reportedly scrapes data using bots, pulling together public records and matching them into personal contact profiles.
Those affected include not only Australian officials but also international leaders such as the US and French presidents. This suggests the database is large in scale and global in reach. The Australian Financial Review has confirmed that the Prime Minister’s voicemail is currently accessible using the number listed on the site. Australian authorities are working to manage the situation but admit local privacy laws may provide limited options when dealing with overseas websites that fall outside their legal jurisdiction.
The wider issue is the growing challenge of protecting personal data in an age where AI and automation make it easier to scrape and combine information available online. Differences in legislation between countries make regulation more difficult. Legal experts warn that once personal details are exposed on the internet, removing them becomes nearly impossible. Cybercrime specialists now worry that AI will lead to more frequent breaches, making data theft faster and harder to track, even when those responsible appear to operate within legal boundaries.
