Australia mulls tougher cybersecurity laws after data breach

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government says it’s considering tougher cybersecurity rules for telecommunications companies and blamed the nation’s second-largest wireless carrier, Optus, for an unprecedented breach of personal data from 9.8 million customers. Optus says it became aware of the cyberattack last Wednesday. It has since offered its “most affected” customers a free credit monitoring and identify protection service. Cybersecurity Minister Clare O’Neil told Parliament on Monday that a substantial reform task would “emerge from a breach of this scale and size.” She noted that other countries allowed for large fines to be levied over such breaches but Australia had no such law.