Data – Page 2 – Cyber Law Watch

Class action following ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline

Jun 07 2021

By Cameron Abbott and Jacqueline Patishman

Last week we posted about a ransomware attack on the American Colonial Pipeline Company. This week, the Company has been hit with a class action alleging that a range of US businesses and consumers suffered loss as a result of Colonial Pipeline’s decision to cut its supply of fuel until the ransomware attack was resolved. Meanwhile, the Company is still not entirely back on track – Colonial’s main website is still offline.

Feb 18 2021

By Cameron Abbott, Rob Pulham and Jacqueline Patishman

News reports have surfaced reporting that a hacker in the US gained access to the Oldsmar’s water treatment plant system in an attempt to release a corrosive chemical into the Oldsmar’s water supply.

Jul 10 2020

By Cameron Abbott and Keely O’Dowd

Intelligence experts KELA recently announced that almost 500,000 customer records of different car suppliers were being offered for sale on the dark web by hacking group “KelvinSecurity Team”.

According to reports, almost 400,000 UK based BMW customers’ data is being sold on the online black market. This data includes the initials and surnames of car owners, home addresses, email addresses, the names of dealerships and car-registration information. The data of Mercedes, SEAT, Honda and Hyundai car owners also form part of the compromised customer records.

Mar 03 2020

By Cameron Abbott and Max Evans

We all know by now that technology, and the data obtained and analysed through it, has changed the way the world works and in particular, the way we do business. However, at the first American Chamber of Commerce in Australia (AmCham) Tech Talk Breakfast for 2020, hosted at K&L Gates by our very own Cameron Abbott, it appears that a large portion of the business world is still lagging in terms of utilising its own data resources, understanding the power of data generally and the need to establish and implement appropriate and comprehensive security protections and processes.

The four industry leading speakers, Martin Creighan of AT&T, Robert Le Busque of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, Melissa Osborne of Dell Technologies and Matthew Payton of Datacom explored the immense volume of data businesses collect, and the gap in many businesses between their current utilisation and the maximum value held by such data. The speakers noted the importance of having a robust data analysis resource pool with which to effectively analyse the vast amounts of data a business carries in order to maximise the utility of such data in informing ongoing business decisions.

Taking its Toll: Toll Shuts Down IT Systems Citing Cyber-Security Incident

Feb 05 2020

By Cameron Abbott, Max Evans and Florence Fermanis

We have our first large scale data breach of the decade. Toll, a transport and logistics network which delivers up to 95 million items globally every year, has temporarily shut down a number of its IT systems as a precautionary measure after suffering a cyber-security breach on Friday, according to an article by the SMH.

A spokesperson has indicated that Toll has cybersecurity experts working closely with their IT team on the breach, and is taking careful internal measures so that systems can be brought back up online in a “controlled and secured manner”. Additionally, Toll has initiated business continuity plans to minimise the disturbance brought on by the breach. While any official numbers of affected customers and the exact nature and extent of the breach have not yet been released by Toll, The Register has reported that the breach has reportedly affected customers in Australia, India and the Philippines.

Is your iPhone spying on you (again)?

Sep 03 2019

By Cameron Abbott and Allison Wallace

In the latest installment of this seemingly ongoing tale, Google uncovered (for the second time in a month) security flaws in Apple’s iOS, which put thousands of users at risk of inadvertently installing spyware on their iPhones. For two years.

Consumer Data Right Draft Rules – submissions closing soon

May 06 2019

By Cameron Abbott, Rob Pulham and Rebecca Gill

The deadline for submissions on the ACCC’s draft Competition and Consumer (Consumer Data) Rules 2019 (Draft Rules) is fast approaching. The ACCC is seeking feedback from community organisations, businesses and consumers on the approach and positions of the Draft Rules for the Consumer Data Right (CDR) regime until this Friday, 10 May 2019.

Key aspects of the Draft Rules (which are available on the ACCC’s website) include:

the three ways in which CDR data may be requested;
the requirements for consent to collect CDR data;
rules relating to the accreditation process; and
rules relating to the thirteen privacy safeguards for CDR data.

Ratings agency starting to factor in Cyber risk profile

Mar 08 2019

By Cameron Abbott and Wendy Mansell

A recent report released by Moody’s Investors Services has shed some light on which business sectors are most at risk for cyberattacks.

After assessing 35 broad sectors it was concluded that banks, hospitals, security firms and market infrastructure providers face the highest risk. This was based on levels of vulnerability and the potential impact an attack would have.

The key determinative factor for these sectors is that they all rely strongly on technology and the vital role of confidential information in their operations.

The financial repercussions following a cyberattack in each of these sectors is extremely significant when considering the costs of insurance, penalties, consumer impact, potential litigation costs, R&D and technological impact to name a few.

The financial market is so high risk because of the financial and commercial data it holds and ever increasing fact that its services are being offered digitally, across multiple platforms i.e banking mobile/smart watch apps.

On a similar note because medical records are primarily collected and held in electronic form hospitals are very attractive to hackers given the sensitive nature of the data.

While the industries should not be a shock to the reader, it is important for participants in those industries and for suppliers to those participants to realise the risk profile that attaches to them and have procedures in place reflective of those risk levels. How one manages these risks in now likely to have indirect cost implications when you see ratings agencies like Moody’s assessing these sorts of areas.

Biggest data leak in German history

Jan 10 2019

By Rob Pulham, Warwick Anderson and Wendy Mansell

A 20 year old German man orchestrated a serious and sophisticated data breach which affected more than 1000 people.

The attack was focused on German and European politicians at all levels including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Frank Walter Steinmeier and hundreds of public figures and celebrities.

The 20 year old hacker took to Twitter to drip feed the information depicted as an advent calendar by releasing new data each day in December. Information exposed included contact details, credit card and financial information, chat records, photographs and other personal information.

Reuters’ reported that the hacker is a student who lives at home with his parents, has no formal computer education and was motivated by irritation over statements made by politicians and public figures.

The widespread nature of this attack has resulted in a number of government officials calling for tighter laws.

It is clear that no-one is safe from a data breach – even those elected representatives who enact the laws designed to protect against them.

I Spy With My Little Phone – New Laws giving access to your phone data

Aug 15 2018

By Cameron Abbott and Colette Légeret

Yesterday, the Australian Government unveiled the draft Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018 which aims to compel telecommunication and multi-national tech companies (Providers) to give law enforcement and security agencies (Agencies) access to personal encrypted data of suspected criminals, including terrorists, child sex offenders and criminal organisations.

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