Rick Wallace reports:
The Victorian government has failed to protect its citizens’ private data, even within its highest echelons, and its computer systems remain vulnerable to attacks from hackers and data thieves.
An audit of the government’s handling of personal and private information has unveiled problems in the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Treasury and several other government agencies.
Auditor-General Des Pearson warned that personal details of citizens were at risk of falling into the wrong hands because of improper storage and handling of files. “In each department, we proved that the personal information stored in the selected databases could be accessed by unauthorised people, quickly and easily from within the network,” he said.
[…]
Mr Pearson found that some sections of government had no way of detecting hacking attacks, even after the event.
“Departments could not be sure their systems had not been breached and personal information stolen because access logs were either not maintained or reviewed,” he said.
Read more in The Australian.