Australia unveils privateness rule modifications after Optus information breach By Reuters

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia on Thursday proposed an overhaul of client privateness guidelines that may assist facilitate focused information sharing between telecommunication corporations and banks following a large information breach at Optus, the nation’s second largest cellular operator.

Final month’s cyber assault on Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel), was one in every of Australia’s greatest information breaches, and compromised information of as much as 10 million clients together with residence addresses, drivers’ licenses and passport numbers.

The modifications will allow telcos to share government-issued identification paperwork with banks to permit them to implement enhanced monitoring for patrons impacted by information breaches.

“They have been fastidiously designed with robust privateness and safety safeguards to make sure that solely restricted data could be made out there briefly to stop and reply to cyber safety incidents, fraud, scams and associated actions,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated throughout a media convention.

The federal government will advocate to the governor-general to amend the privateness rules, he stated.

The proposed modifications can even permit for elevated fraud detection within the broader monetary providers sector via present trade mechanisms to report fraudulent transactions, corresponding to fraud data exchanges.

Chalmers stated the federal government wouldn’t disclose particulars of monetary establishments that obtain the info from Optus resulting from information safety causes.

Data obtained should be destroyed by banks when it’s not required and may solely be used for the only real goal of stopping or responding to cyber safety incidents, fraud, rip-off exercise or id theft, the treasurer stated.

Australia’s telecommunications, monetary and authorities sectors have been on excessive alert for the reason that cyber assault at Optus and had flagged modifications to privateness guidelines to assist banks take rapid actions to stop fraudulent transactions.

The Australian authorities, which believes the breach at Optus was resulting from a fundamental safety hole, had slammed the corporate for describing the assault as refined and for delays in updating affected clients.