Australian banks have received a warning from the nation‘s peak financial regulator to improve their poor “cyber hygiene”, following revelations that there have been some 36 significant data breaches in just four months.
The breaches are said to have occurred after new regulations came into effect, making it compulsory for the banks to disclose all such incidents.
According to Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) board member Geoff Summerhayes, the latest figures reveal that the banks are under siege from the cyber-security baddies.
He says that since July, there have been 36 major data breaches, many involving the disclosure of personal information.
Others, Summerhayes said, “most ominously involved a compromise of staff or customer credentials, resulting in the unauthorised manipulation of records, Web site defacement and fraud”.
Summerhayes said APRA would be increasingly challenging companies in the cyber security space by “utilising data-driven insights to prioritise and tailor our supervisory activities”.
