Australia looks to amend privacy rules following Optus data breach

Shutterstock

Australian privacy guidelines will be altered to help speedier cyber security alerts for banking companies, Primary Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Monday.

“We want to make sure … that we modify some of the privacy provisions there so that if men and women are caught up like this, the banking companies can be let know so that they can guard their buyers as properly,” Albanese informed radio station 4BC.

✔ Approved Seller From Our Partners

Protect your privacy by Mullvad VPN. Mullvad VPN is one of the famous brands in the security and privacy world. With Mullvad VPN you will not even be asked for your email address. No log policy, no data from you will be saved. Get your license key now from the official distributor of Mullvad with discount: SerialCart® (Limited Offer).

➤ Get Mullvad VPN with 12% Discount

The information breaks a week immediately after the country’s 2nd-most significant telecom agency and a subsidiary of Singapore-owned Singtel, Optus was faced with a knowledge security incident.

“Home addresses, drivers’ licences and passport numbers of up to 10 million buyers, or about 40% of the population, ended up compromised in just one of Australia’s most important info breaches,” Optus verified.

Much less is regarded about the attack mechanism, even so, Optus exposed the attacker’s IP handle appeared to traverse various European countries.

“One particular considerable query is no matter whether the cyber security prerequisites that we put on large telecommunications companies in this nation are suit for intent,” stated cyber security minister Clare O’Neil.

“In other jurisdictions, a facts breach of this size would final result in fines amounting to hundreds of hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

As issues stand, Optus has taken steps to deal with the cyber attack.

“Optus is providing the most influenced present and former shoppers whose data was compromised because of a cyberattack, the solution to take up a 12-month subscription to Equifax Shield at no expense,” reads the company’s cyber security warn.