After the Optus Data Hack, Australia Announces reforms to its Privacy Laws

Australia has proposed consumer privacy rules to facilitate the sharing of specific data between telecom companies and the bank.

Sydney: Australia on Thursday proposed a review of consumer privacy rules that will help facilitate the sharing of specific data between telecom companies and banks in the wake of a massive data breach at Optus, the country’s second-largest mobile operator.

Last month’s cyber attack on Optus, owned by Singapore Telecom Limited (Singtel), was one of Australia’s largest data breaches, affecting the data of up to 10 million customers, including home addresses, driver’s licenses, phone numbers, and passports.

The changes will allow telecom companies to share government-issued identification documents with banks to enable them to implement improved monitoring of customers affected by data breaches.

“It has been carefully designed with robust privacy and security safeguards to ensure that only limited information may be temporarily available to prevent and respond to cybersecurity incidents, fraud, fraud, and related activities,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers said during a press conference.

He said the government would recommend to the governor-general to change the privacy rules.

The proposed changes would also allow for increased fraud detection in the broader financial services sector through existing industry mechanisms for reporting fraudulent transactions, such as the exchange of fraudulent information.

Chalmers said the government will not disclose details of the financial institutions that receive Optus data for data security reasons.

The cashier said that information received by banks should be destroyed when it is no longer needed and can only be used for the sole purpose of preventing or responding to cybersecurity incidents, fraud, fraud, or identity theft.

Australia’s telecommunications, financial, and government sectors have been on high alert since the Optus hack and reported changes to privacy rules to help banks take immediate action to prevent fraudulent transactions.

The Australian government, which believes the Optus hack was due to a fundamental security breach, has criticized the company for describing the attack as complex and for delays in updating affected customers.

Read More News Updates Visit our Site InsightFello.