Australia news live: financial authorities working with Optus to protect customers from ‘bad behaviour’ after data breach

Jim Chalmers says he’s working on protecting consumers from ‘any bad behaviour following Optus breach’

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says financial authorities are working with Optus to avoid potential fraud or theft perpetrated against customers involved in the telco’s data breach, including the possibility of data being shared with banks to allow enhanced monitoring of accounts.

We’re still waiting for a more formal and comprehensive government response on the data breach. Government sources had indicated on Monday and Tuesday that significant announcements would be made, but no such updates have yet been given. Home affairs minister Clare O’Neil has been criticised by the Coalition opposition for not yet holding a press conference since the Optus data breach was announced last Thursday.

Chalmers told a press conference on Wednesday that he’d been working with the Reserve Bank, financial regulator Apra and the big four banks since Saturday, to respond to financial issues related to the breach.

“If there’s more than can be done by financial institutions to monitor risks and protect consumers, then that should be done,” he said.

The treasurer said he’d met with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) today to discuss the “safe and secure sharing of data between Optus and regulated financial institutions, with the appropriate safeguards, to allow those institutions to undertake enhanced monitoring for the purposes of best protecting consumers from any bad behaviour following this data breach”.

“Financial institutions can play a really important role here using that data, if we can work out the best way to get it to them, to protect their customers at greatest risk,” he said.

Chalmers said discussions were ongoing about which institutions can receive data, under which terms, and necessary safeguards for the data. That process of sharing data with banks has not yet begun, and is in the planning stages.

Chalmers said on Monday the RBA convened the council of financial regulators – Apra, Asic, ACCC, ATO, Treasury – to respond to data issues from the Optus hack, while the Treasury convened a meeting of banks and financial crimes regulators.