IDCARE, a national identity support service, has criticized the Australian government’s increased penalties for privacy breaches, saying that they could prompt companies to pay ransoms in an attempt to keep a breach quiet.
IDCARE made these comments in a submission to the federal government’s review of the Privacy Act. According to IDCARE, the current breach frameworks appear to be less about informing and supporting affected individuals and more about reporting to regulators and protecting other interests.
This, the organization says, leaves Australian businesses open to ongoing ransom attacks. IDCARE claims that there is little disincentive for criminals to keep targeting Australian businesses and government agencies, especially since fear of the recently-introduced penalties could make things worse.
The penalties for serious privacy breaches include up to $50 million, one-third of the turnover for an affected company, or three times any financial benefit obtained through data misuse. IDCARE warns that the government’s proposed amendments to the Privacy Act could have the “perverse outcome” of making privacy compliance “much more litigious.”
