A delay in notifying National Disability Insurance Scheme participants whose sensitive care information was exposed in the hack of law firm HWL Ebsworth was warranted to avoid unnecessary alarm, says the country’s first national cybersecurity co-ordinator.

Air Marshal Darren Goldie, who agreed on the slower approach suggested by the law firm as a way to balance being transparent against causing harm and anxiety, also revealed that not all companies and individuals affected by the massive 4 terabytes of data stolen from the firm’s servers in April have been contacted.