MAJOR AUSTRALIAN DATA BREACHES FOR 2021 SO FAR...
Data breaches remain a constant threat, and no industry or organisation is immune from the risks. As a result of the volume of data breaches and cybersecurity incidents, hackers now have access to a vast swathe of credentials that they can use to power various password-related attacks. For Australian businesses, knowing how these cyber breaches occurred can help them protect their own data by ensuring they don’t allow the same thing to happen to them. It has been a busy quarter so far, here are a list of some of the major data breaches for 2021 in Australia.
SITA - MARCH 2021
Customers of airlines including Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and United have been affected by a breach which has seen aviation services conglomerate SITA warn of a “data security incident involving certain passenger data”.
TRANSPORT FOR NSW – FEB 2021
Transport for NSW has joined a growing list of global organisations to fall victim to the Accellion data breach after confirming that data from the file-sharing system was stolen.
ACCELLION – FEB 2021
On Dec. 23, it was discovered that a bad actor had hacked its way into Accellion’s client data via a zero-day vulnerability in its secure file transfer application.
QIMR BERGHOFER INSTITUTE – FEB 2021
The QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute was notified that its data stored on an external fire-sharing system hosted by Accellion was breached on by an unknown entity on February 2.
ASIC – JAN 2021
The Australian corporate regulator has become the latest high-profile victim of a cyber-attack related to the same software used to hit both the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and law firm Allens.
QLD MINISTER EMAIL - FEBRUARY 2021
A private email account used by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, and potentially the password unlocking a linked social media platform, was exposed in a 2016 data breach that affected more than 150 million other LinkedIn users across the globe.
SINGTEL – FEB 2021
Parent organization of Australian telecom giant Optus, Singapore Telecommunications Limited said that it is currently investigating the impact of a possible security breach. SingTel says that the cybersecurity breach might have exposed and compromised customer data.
NT HEALTH – FEB 2021
Thousands of North Territorians have had their personal and business emails released in a data-breaching mass email sent by the Health Department in relation to the government’s COVID-19 Territory Check In app.
OXFAM – FEB 2021
Oxfam Australia is investigating a suspected cyber attack that has allegedly impacted the data of 1.7 million supporters.
TASMANIAN AMBULANCE – JAN 2021
The private details of every Tasmanian who has called an ambulance since November last year have been published online by a third party in a list still updating each time paramedics are dispatched.
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