Data Breaches Hit Highest Level in 3 Years, OAIC Report Reveals

Data breaches surged to their highest level in three and a half years during the first half of 2024, according to new statistics from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). The office recorded 527 breaches in the first half of 2024, a sharp increase of nine percent from the latter half of 2023. Among the most significant incidents was the MediSecure data breach, which impacted approximately 12.9 million Australians—the largest number affected by a breach since the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme began. This breach underscores the growing vulnerability of both private and public sectors to data security threats. The report also found that malicious and criminal attacks were the leading cause of data breaches, accounting for 67 percent of cases, with 57 percent of these incidents categorised as cyber security breaches....