Australia flags tough new data protection laws this year

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says Australia could have tough new data protection laws in place this year in an urgent response to a cyberattack that stole from a telecommunications company the personal data of 9.8 million customers. Dreyfus said Thursday the government will make “urgent reforms” to the Privacy Act following the unprecedented hack last week on Optus, Australia’s second-largest wireless carrier. Dreyfus says “it’s possible” for the law to be changed in the four remaining weeks that Parliament is scheduled to sit this year. Dreyfus says penalties for failing to protect data have to be increased and companies should have to justify the “absolutely huge amounts” of customer data they hold.