Labor Govt Introduces New Legislation To Tackle Growing Cyber Crime

A new legislation aimed at addressing Australia's preparedness for cyber threats and safeguarding both businesses and consumers from the growing threat of cybercrime, especially ransomware attacks, was presented in Parliament on Tuesday.

If approved by the Parliament, the legislation could become Australia's first standalone cyber security act, complementing the Labor government's Cyber Security Strategy unveiled last year, ABC reported.

Authorities said over 94,000 cases of cyber attacks were reported in the country in the last financial year, which is a 23% surge.

"The creation of a Cyber Security Act is a long-overdue step for our country and reflects the government's deep concern and focus on these threats," Cyber Security Minister Tony Burke stated before the laws were presented in Parliament.

Under the legislation, the cyber companies who were victims to ransomware attacks and paid hackers to regain the data, will have to report the payment to authorities. Any malicious cyber threat that blocks access to crucial data until a ransom is paid qualifies as "ransomware attack."

The legislation also introduces new obligations for the National Cyber Security Coordinator and Australian Signals Directorate, limiting how they can use information provided by businesses and industries about cyber security incidents.

The government hopes to encourage greater transparency and encourage organizations to share information more freely, under the assurance that it will be protected. However, it will not provide complete indemnity for businesses from future prosecution.

Private entities in critical infrastructure – such as energy, transport, communications, health and finance – will have to strengthen the systems that are used to source private individuals' data and address the security concerns, The Conversation reported.

A Cyber Incident Review Board will be created to collect incidents related to cyber breach. Additionally, a minimum-security standard will be implemented for all smart devices, such as watches, televisions, speakers and doorbells.

On the broader side, complying with the provisions of the Act may present challenges to smaller business as they have to invest more in cyber security measures, ultimately passing the costs on to customers. Also, some businesses might still be unwilling to share confidential data due to fear of damage to reputation.