By Fatima Halloum
A Tarneit resident who had his data exposed in the Optus leak is warning other people to better protect their information, and is calling on the federal government to introduce tougher restrictions for privacy breaches.
As the director of BroadWeb Digital, a technology and digital marketing website, Venkatesh Kanchan thought he knew more than most the best way to keep his data secure.
When he received an email informing him his information had been compromised he worried about becoming the victim of identity theft.
“I understand what’s required to keep your data secure, and finding out all my information [had been leaked], it feels like a lot of it was down to carelessness [from Optus],” he said.
Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, said the company is committed to rebuilding trust following the cyberattack on its customers.
“We recognise how painful the exposure of personal information from the cyberattack on Optus customers has been, and we are deeply sorry,” she said.
Optus announced customers had the option to take up a free 12-month subscription with credit monitoring and identity protection service Equifax. Mr Kanchan signed up to the program.
Mr Kanchan said the experience has made him think about what personal data he should supply to companies.
“I make sure I don’t re-use my passwords between services [because] if my password gets breached and they try to get into my email with the same password they won’t be able to.”
Mr Kanchan said he hopes the breach will prompt the government to introduce stricter regulations and fines.
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said the federal government had introduced legislation to significantly increase penalties for repeated or serious privacy breaches.
“Significant privacy breaches in recent weeks have shown existing safeguards are outdated and inadequate … Companies must do better to prevent breaches from happening,” he said.
Mr Dreyfus said a comprehensive review by the Attorney-General’s Department will be completed this year, ahead of an overhaul of the Privacy Act next year.
