Australia ranks 6th globally for data breaches

Australia ranks 6th globally for data breaches | Insurance Business Australia

Cyber

Australia ranks 6th globally for data breaches

Country saw 15 leaked accounts per minute during the study period

Cyber

By
Roxanne Libatique

Australia ranked sixth globally for data breached in the second quarter of 2023 (Q2 2023), according to VPN services provider Surfshark’s global study.

The study revealed over 110 million accounts leaked in Q2 2023, 2.6 times the number of breaches in the first quarter (43.2 million). This means 855 accounts were breached every minute in Q2 2023 compared to 334 accounts per minute in the previous quarter.

Among the most breached countries in Q2 2023, Australia ranked sixth – with nearly 2 million leaked accounts during the period or 15 leaked accounts per minute (11 times more compared to the previous quarter).

“According to the most recent Surfshark’s global data breach statistics, leaked accounts surged almost threefold in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter,” said Surfshark lead researcher Agneska Sablovskaja. “Such alarming increase in data breaches highlights that the current data protection measures are not sufficient, and sensitive information remains at risk as cybercriminals continue to access it in ever higher numbers.”

Breaches in Australia

Last month, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released a compliance report in response to an order from the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB).

The compliance report stated that PwC has improved its management of confidentiality agreements, including implementing a central approval and registry process, and board oversight.