Data Exchange Update May 2022

Cyber Security and the Data Exchange

This month we are focusing on information and security management and the importance of having security controls in place. This is not only for the Data Exchange but for your organisation's systems and information security.

A report published on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner website found 43% of all data breaches resulted from cyber security incidents and under the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme, 298 malicious or criminal attacks were reported.

It is important for organisations to have a cyber security mitigation strategy in place in case there is a data breach. A data breach is when personal information is shared with or accessed by an unauthorised person. This can be by accident or because of a security breach.

Everyone is at risk of data breaches, including individuals, small businesses, large organisations and the government. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) recommends a plan to be implemented for all users and computers storing sensitive information. The ACSC has developed some strategies to help organisations protect themselves against various cyber threats which can be found on their website.

If your organisation becomes aware of any security or privacy breaches you must notify your Funding Arrangement Manager as soon as possible, even if you do not believe it impacts the Data Exchange. For further information, please refer to the Data Exchange Protocols.

To learn more about security threats and risks in Australia, you can visit the ACSC website. We also recommend staying up to date by subscribing to the ACSC alert service.