Organisations today are both blessed and cursed with extraordinary amounts of data. The responsibility for information security and data governance starts and ends with the board and senior management. We offer a handbook to help navigate duties and liabilities and a checklist of questions directors should be asking. ...

The final anticipated amendments to the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 (Cth) (SOCI Act) have been passed in the nick of time, making their way through the Senate in its last sitting before the 2022 Federal Election. These latest amendments introduce new and enhanced obligations for risk management programs and security respectively, and the concept of ‘systems of national significance’. ...

APRA and AUSTRAC provide risk-management guidance in relation to crypto-assets ...

The Federal Government is seeking feedback on a proposed new licensing regime for crypto asset secondary service providers (CASSPrs) and new requirements regulating custody of crypto assets. The new regime would potentially sit alongside the existing AFS licensing regime, with possible overlap and inconsistency in treatment of service providers. The Government is also seeking early views on how crypto assets should be defined and categorised as part of a 'crypto mapping' exercise. The consultation period runs until 27 May 2022. ...

A full bench of the Federal Court has confirmed an earlier ruling that there was a prima facie case Facebook Inc (now Meta Platforms Inc) 'carries on a business' and collects personal information in Australia. With this decision, the Australian Information Commissioner can now proceed with the landmark case against Facebook Inc and Facebook Ireland Ltd in relation to a number of alleged breaches of the Australian Privacy Principles. ...

Cybercrime continued to dominate headlines throughout 2021, with the global cost of cybercrime predicted to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025 . As governments continue to navigate how to best deter cyber criminals, organisations must remain vigilant in the face of increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity attacks – arising from within and outside their organisation. We look at the top five cybersecurity trends that defined 2021 and what they mean for Australian businesses in 2022 ...

In late October, the Attorney-General's Department released a long-awaited Exposure Draft of the Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enhancing Online Privacy and Other Measures) Bill (Online Privacy Bill) to amend the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act). ...

The Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre has released a report (the Report) which makes 12 recommendations largely focused on the 'digital asset/crypto' economy. ...

The Department for Home Affairs has released the Australian Government's Ransomware Action Plan (the Plan). This development forms part of the Government's Cyber Strategy and is the latest in a series of actions taken by the Government to combat the escalating threat of ransomware and extortion. ...

The Victorian government has implemented a broad-reaching mandatory vaccination requirement for workers as part of its plan to limit the spread of COVID-19. Under the COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination (Workers) Directions (Directions), a significant number of Victorian workers must be vaccinated in order to work away from home from 22 October 2021. ...