A data breach is the unauthorised disclosure or loss of personally identifiable information or information that may lead to a person becoming identifiable that is inconsistent with what was agreed when first collected. Not all data breaches occur through hackers attempting to steal sensitive data.
Data breaches can include inappropriate destruction of information, loss of physical files, or the storing of information with third parties without permission. Data breaches can result in serious harm and the reporting of such events to impacted individuals will become mandatory in Australia in 2018 for Commonwealth Privacy regulated organisations (see oaic.gov.au).
We all have rights in relation to the protection of personal information. Privacy legislation in Australia and New Zealand requires regulated entities to protect your information that identifies you. It is important to understand these rights, particularly when they are threatened by identity compromise and misuse, including data breach events. The Privacy Commissioner websites in Australia and New Zealand are the best sources of information on these rights. This Fact Sheet introduces the basics and provides some tips if your identity information is compromised.
For more information please see our Knowing Your Privacy Rights Fact Sheet.
Identity Care Australia & New Zealand Ltd (IDCARE) provides identity and cyber security incident response services (the Services) in accordance with the following disclaimer of service:
IDCARE is Australia and New Zealand’s national identity and cyber incident community support service. We are a not-for-profit charity.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this alert, IDCARE disclaims any liability to any person in respect to any actions performed or not performed as a result of the contents of the the Services or any accompanying data provided. Wider dissemination may be permitted by authority in writing from IDCARE’s Managing Director. If you would like to provide feedback please use our Feedback Form.
Have you had a call from someone who asked you to download and install programs to your device recently?
view fact sheetCriminals attempt to gain ownership of mobile numbers in order to access online accounts.
view fact sheetWhen a suppression is put in place it basically ‘freezes’ access to your credit file.
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