After the major Optus and Medibank data breaches of 2022, the Australian federal government is pursuing a new cybersecurity agenda.
“For businesses these days, cybersecurity is as important as having a lock on the door”, said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Minister for Cyber Security Claire O’Neil released a discussion paper that answers questions about the role the government should play in order to improve Australia’s cyber resilience. Measures include creating a National Office of Cyber Security, and a new role based in the Department of Home Affairs – Coordinator for Cyber Security.
The Australian Federal Police assisted Medibank to contain the fallout after data pertaining to over 480,000 customers was hacked. There is evidence that sensitive health data leaked by cyber criminals is becoming more publicly available.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner commenced an examination of the personal information handling practices of Optus and its parent company in early October 2022, after the data breach that occurred on 22nd September 2022.
In both the Medibank and Optus cases, government intervention was necessary. The stronger and more robust cybersecurity agenda being pursued by the federal government will go some way towards strengthening Australia’s cybersecurity defences.
If you would like to discuss how Agilient can assist you in protecting your most valuable online assets, please contact us.
Author: Lisa Seltzer, Agilient Consultant