Companies may face multimillion-dollar fines for failing to protect customer data from hackers, as Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil rebuked Optus over its data breach that has affected almost 10 million Australians.
As class action law firms circle and Optus promised customers credit monitoring services free-of-charge to shield them from scams, Ms O’Neil vowed to overhaul laws regulating the storage of consumer data.
Max Mason covers insolvency, courts, financial crime, cybercrime and corporate wrongdoing. A Walkley Award winner, Max’s journalism has also received awards from the National Press Club of Australia, the Kennedy Awards and Citibank. Message Max on Signal https://tinyurl.com/MaxMason Connect with Max on Twitter. Email Max at max.mason@afr.com
Lucas Baird is a journalist based in The Australian Financial Review's Sydney office. Connect with Lucas on Twitter. Email Lucas at lucas.baird@afr.com
Paul Smith edits the technology coverage and has been a leading writer on the sector for 20 years. He covers big tech, business use of tech, the fast-growing Australian tech industry and start-ups, telecommunications and national innovation policy. Connect with Paul on Twitter. Email Paul at psmith@afr.com
