News: APE UPDATE 1-Australia's Eagers Automotive says IT systems hit by cyber incident

(Adds details on cyber incident, background on cyber incidents in Australia in paragraphs 2-6)

Dec 28 (Reuters) - Australia's Eagers Automotive (APE) said on Thursday a cyber incident was impacting some of its IT systems at its operating locations across Australia and New Zealand.

The automotive retailer was yet to determine the full extent of the incident, but has notified the cyber security centres in both countries, it said in a statement, without providing any other details.

"The company apologises to our customers for any inconvenience."

Australia has seen a rise in cyber intrusions since late last year, prompting the government in February to reform security rules. It also set up an agency to oversee government investment and help coordinate responses to hacker attacks.

Health insurer Medibank Private (MPL) and telco Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications STEL.SI , were among at least eight companies reporting cyber incidents since 2022 that exposed millions of customer data.

"External experts have been appointed to support our response and an urgent investigation is underway," Eagers said.