Australian Privacy Commissioner set to investigate Vodafone leak
The Australian government’s Privacy Commissioner is set to investigate Vodafone over an alleged leak of personal details belonging to its customers on the internet, as confirmed by his office this morning.
The investigation, which will be conducted by the authoritative Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, is set to determine whether Vodafone’s actions constitute an illegal breach of the Australian Privacy Act. In a statement, Timothy Pilgrim, the Privacy Commissioner, explained that his office takes every allegation of a breach of privacy highly serious, warning that all organisations that handle important and personal information about Australians should ensure that their security is always watertight.
On Sunday, Vodafone was forced to admit that its online database, only accessible through secure web portals that are by authorised by both employees and dealers, was breached. Details that included names, addresses and driver’s licence numbers as well as credit card details were made available on the web during what has been branded as one of the most serious lapses in security ever witnessed.
In his statement, Mr Pilgrim revealed how he had been given assurances from that Vodafone’s chief executive Nigel Dews that the company will offer full compliance to the authorities. When asked about what had caused the fiasco, Mr Dews suggested that it was likely that a dealer or employee had shared a password and allowed personal customer information to become available on the internet.
While Pilgrim’s office looks into the matter, Vodafone has also announced that it will launch its own investigation to determine who was responsible for breaching the system and will the Australian Federal Police involved if it is appropriate.