According to the latest statistics from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), at least 1 million people were affected by five data breaches that occurred in the second half of 2022.
The OAIC report, which is yet to be released, revealed that a total of 497 notifiable data breaches were reported between July and December 2022, which is a 26 percent increase compared to the first half of the year. The report also revealed that three well-known companies, Optus, Woolworths MyDeal, and Medibank, were among the five breaches that impacted more than 1 million individuals.
The identity of the other two companies with large-scale customer impact is not immediately clear, possibly because they have not been made public.
The report noted that 350 breaches resulted from malicious or criminal attacks, a 41 percent increase from the previous half, while human error breaches decreased by five percent, with 123 notifications.
