ACMA presses for Optus data breach report in Federal Court
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Optus has yet to hand over to the media regulator a Deloitte-authored report on the telco's 2022 data breach, despite losing an appeal over confidentiality claims linked to the document.
The context: Optus fronted the Federal Court of Australia today in the first case management hearing of the Australian Communications and Media Authority's (ACMA's) lawsuit against the telco.
ACMA is suing Optus over allegations that it failed to protect the confidentiality of its customers’ personal information from unauthorised interference or unauthorised access.
Judge Jonathan Beach said the company could now reissue its notice, or seek a court order for production of the document.
Beach said the document should be handed over within a couple of weeks from today's date and expects the regulator to be ready to set out its case in August.
ACMA announced its lawsuit against Optus late last month, following a class action law suit over the cyberattack which Beach is also presiding over.
Lawyers for Optus in the class action lawsuit have previously raised cyber security concerns in the face of calls from class action applicants for it to produce documents.
The concerns were still a live issue in today's hearing, causing frustration for Beach who has said a registrar will now adjudicate over remaining confidentiality concerns.
What they said: Barrister Michael Borsky KC appeared before Beach today on behalf of ACMA, saying "the notice [for production of the Deloitte report] was served some months ago," and that the regulator had respected an ongoing appeal at the time over legal privilege claims.
"That’s done and dusted. We renew the requirement to produce the report. We press for it and don't understand there’s resistance," he said.
The source: Federal Court of Australia
