Cyber-attack targeted 186,000 Service NSW customers

A cyber-security breach at Service NSW earlier this year was far worse than originally thought, it's been revealed.

The malicious phishing scam was discovered on April 22, after it targeted dozens of staff emails to obtain personal customer information.

Service NSW confirmed today a staggering 186,000 customers had their information stolen by hackers.

Close to four million items were accessed, including photocopies of driver's licences, car registration details and birth certificates.

Letters are being sent out by registered mail to the thousands impacted and forensic specialists hired by Service NSW are continuing their investigation.

At the time, Service NSW CEO Damon Rees apologised for failing to protect customers from the complex attack.

"We are confident the criminal access was limited to the content of those email accounts, which are related to transactions over the phone or over-the-counter at a Service NSW Centre," Mr Rees said.

"Cyber security is incredibly important and we're very sorry that we haven't been able to successfully protect our customers against this complex attack.

"We are going to do everything we possibly can to help customers who have been affected by this. We've established a dedicated team to offer help to affected customers.

"Service NSW will contact customers who we determine have been affected by this criminal attack."