Tag Archives: Data and computer security | The Guardian

Australia news live: Optus contacting 14,900 customers with exposed Medicare ID, consumer watchdog warns petrol stations over price rises

Posted on by

The fuel excise reduction has ended, but service stations have been warned not to pass on the price increase straight away. Follow the day’s news live

Is a cyber security overhaul from the federal government on the cards?

The attorney general Mark Dreyfus told ABC News Breakfast what that could like with details of the government’s response to the Optus data breach:

We’ve been working very hard for a week when the shocking details of this massive data breach were revealed. Rightly millions and millions of Australians past and former Optus customers are very worried about what’s happened.

We’ve had the Treasurer working with banks and financial institutions, we’ve got the Minister for Communications, the Minister for Home Affairs, and me, because I’m responsible for the privacy act, we’ve all been working with Optus and we’ve been working with each other. The Australian Federal Police has been working with the FBI to try and track down the perpetrators.

Continue reading…

from Data and computer security | The Guardian https://ift.tt/mNW1TZb
via IFTTT

Anthony Albanese says ‘Optus should pay’ for new passports for data breach victims

Posted on by

Push comes day after states suggest telco will pick up multi-million dollar tab for replacing driver’s licences of affected customers

The federal government has demanded Optus pay for new passports for customers caught up in the telco’s data breach, as the prime minister flagged an overhaul of laws relating to how companies collect personal information.

The foreign minister, Penny Wong, has written to Optus raising concerns about criminals exploiting data harvested in the cyber hack, saying there was “no justification” for victims or taxpayers to foot the bill for replacing compromised documents.

Continue reading…

from Data and computer security | The Guardian https://ift.tt/ymgu082
via IFTTT

Optus customers, not the company, are the real victims of massive data breach | Justin Warren

Posted on by

Optus executives are paid millions to ensure that, among other things, customer data is safe. These are the people who should be held accountable for the data breach.

The Optus data breach has brought data security into the forefront of every Australian’s mind. While it’s good people are thinking about these issues, the best time to start thinking about them was years ago. The second-best time is now. It’s important then that we analyse how Optus has handled this breach so far, and what needs to be done to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading…

from Data and computer security | The Guardian https://ift.tt/oR1eiD5
via IFTTT

Sophisticated attack or human error?: how Optus lost control of your data

Posted on by

In the days since Optus first reported that potentially millions of its customers’ private information – from birth dates to Medicare numbers – had been breached, it has faced threats of blackmail, a potential class action and a public spat with the home affairs minister.

Reporter Josh Taylor and Jane Lee discuss the fallout from the data breach and whether this was a ‘sophisticated attack’ on the telco, or a failure of the company’s own security systems

Read more:

Continue reading…

from Data and computer security | The Guardian https://ift.tt/VInSWmO
via IFTTT

Optus data breach: Australians will be able to change their driver’s licence with telco to pay

Posted on by

Federal opposition wants commonwealth to allow people to get new passports for free too – and quickly

Australians caught up in a massive breach of Optus data will be able to change their driver’s licence numbers and get new cards, with the telco expected to bear the multi-million cost of the changeover.

The New South Wales, Victorian, Queensland and South Australia governments on Tuesday evening began clearing the bureaucratic hurdles for anyone who can prove they are victims of the hack, which has affected millions of people.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading…

from Data and computer security | The Guardian https://ift.tt/czYKk79
via IFTTT

Attorney general says FBI is working on Optus data breach – video

Posted on by

Attorney general Mark Dreyfus says the FBI is working with local authorities to investigate the Optus data breach. ‘The government, as well as the Australian federal police and other government agencies, are working closely together on the Optus data breach,’ he said. 

‘The Australian federal police is taking this very seriously with a large number of officers involved, working with other federal government agencies and state and territory police, and with the FBI in the United States and with industry.’

Continue reading…

from Data and computer security | The Guardian https://ift.tt/0Z8F7Qr
via IFTTT

Police ‘all over’ dark web ransom threat to release 10,000 customer records a day, Optus CEO says

Posted on by

Purported hackers post ultimatum demanding $1m within four days after massive Optus data breach

The chief executive of Optus, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, says federal police are “all over” a post on the dark web purporting to release 10,000 customer records from the recent data breach and demanding a $1m ransom for the rest.

Rosmarin also told ABC radio the company’s massive security breach was “not as being portrayed”, after the minister for home affairs accused the company of leaving the “window open” for the data to be stolen.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading…

from Data and computer security | The Guardian https://ift.tt/jVBTyfu
via IFTTT

Optus customers exasperated by chatbots and ‘rubbish’ communication after data breach

Posted on by

Some customers look to switch providers after puzzling responses and ‘less than helpful’ service

Optus customers say they are growing increasingly angry and frustrated at the poor communication from their mobile provider over the massive customer data breach that left millions vulnerable to identity fraud.

In the four days since Optus first reported that up to 10 million customers had personal information taken in a data breach, customers have been left scratching their heads over how Optus has communicated with them.

Continue reading…

from Data and computer security | The Guardian https://ift.tt/vuWMa1U
via IFTTT

Government flags new cybersecurity laws and increase in fines after Optus breach

Posted on by

Clare O’Neil says penalties for telcos are ‘totally inappropriate’ and data breach was ‘significant error’

The Albanese government will pursue “very substantial” reforms in the wake of the massive Optus data breach, including increasing penalties under the Privacy Act that are currently capped at $2.2m.

As the government flags it will push ahead with legislative changes, hundreds of public servants from the Australian Signals Directorate, the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Australian federal police were deployed to help manage the fallout from the data breach, with the government also working with banks to prevent further fraud.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading…

from Data and computer security | The Guardian https://ift.tt/cqXLRyB
via IFTTT

Optus data security breach: what should I do to protect myself?

Posted on by

Experts say while ‘there’s no need to panic’, there are steps you can take to ensure you’re not exposed to scams or identity theft

After Optus revealed its massive data security breach on Thursday, customers started receiving emails informing them that their personal information had been accessed.

The telco said that while no financial information or passwords were accessed, the breach has seen customers’ names, dates of birth, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses associated with their account, and details of ID documents such as drivers licence numbers or passport numbers compromised.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading…

from Data and computer security | The Guardian https://ift.tt/qOXhicU
via IFTTT