In the latest of a string of scandals unearthed by the Royal Banking Commission, it has been revealed that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia lost the personal information of 12 million customers in 2016. The data was supposedly lost after the magnetic tapes that contained the information went missing. Adding insult to injury; the CBA investigated the data loss and, after some inconclusive investigations, decided that the tapes had likely been disposed of, but chose to never fully confirm this with concrete information.
Once again, one of Australia’s major banks has been brought low by its hubris attitude regarding privacy and security. Not only did the CBA fail to dispose of customer data safely, but it also failed to disclose the potential data loss to its customers.
Such examples show the importance of having a sensible and holistic approach to security issues. By isolating and sometimes ignoring security oversights such as data breach or loss, the problem will only get bigger and ultimately, cost your company a great deal.
Oddly enough, honestly can be the best policy when it comes to sensitive security breaches. Had the CBA been willing to disclose the data loss, the publish backlash would have been great, but not so great to demand a Royal Banking Commission. Likewise, by owning up to the loss, the CBA could have put more rigorous security measures in place, instead of hoping that no one would find out. These measures could have been implemented in a manner that could have also addressed corporate cultural problems that may have led to the poor decisions made during the data loss.
The Commonwealth Bank is not the only organisation to fall victim to its own poor management. It can happen to any company that doesn’t take the security and risk management of its assets seriously enough. By implementing a ‘bigger picture’ security policy, a company can ensure that any part of its business, be it customer service, to marketing, to accounts can operate in a manner that will not risk the reputation or security of the company at large.
From its leadership, down to its clerks, a good business knows that ensuring the safety of its assets is the best way to work efficiently and profitably.