Fees paid to the directors of Singtel – the owner of Optus – have soared by more than 80 per cent in just one year.

The directors of Optus owner Singtel were given major pay rises just weeks before the telco suffered one of the biggest data breaches in Australia’s history.

Telco giant Optus runs a “world-class” global cyber security business but is refusing to say whether it was used to protect its Australian customers, the group’s biggest source of profit.