In recent months we’ve seen high profile organisations including Optus and Medibank fall victim to cyberattacks, resulting in data breaches affecting the lives of millions of Australians. Optus’ data breach in September compromised the personal data of 9.8 million customers, whilst Medibank’s data breach in October has affected 9.7 million customers.
Now, new laws have been introduced to parliament to increase the maximum penalties organisations face under the Privacy Act 1988 following major data breaches. The current maximum penalty for serious or repeated breaches of privacy is $2.2 million.
The new laws will see the maximum penalty increase to one of three options, determined by whichever is highest:
• $50 million
• Three times the value of benefit obtained through misuse of the information
• 30% of a company’s domestic turnover in the relevant period
This significant penalty increase aims to incentivise companies to better protect their customer’s data. These laws will also provide the Australian Information Commissioner with additional powers to assess and resolve privacy breaches.
Protecting your business online and preventing data breaches
Data breaches can result in long-term reputational damage and financial loss for your business. The best way to prevent them is by taking proactive steps to strengthen your business online and safeguard your customer’s personal data.
Sound complicated? At Ever Nimble, we make improving your cyber resilience easy with Cyber Security Protection packages tailored to your business’ needs.
We also offer our SOC (Security Operations Centre) and MDR (Managed Detection Response) service, a comprehensive cyber security monitoring system that hunts for threats, malicious activity, and data breaches. In the event of a serious breach or compromise, our team is alerted so they can act quickly to remediate the situation and protect your business.
Find out how we can strengthen your cyber security, call us on +61 8 6381 6900 or get in touch with us at connect@evernimble.com.
