One-third of Australian data breaches down to human error

Figures from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) show that of the 242 data breaches reported from April to June 2018, 36 percent are directly attributable to human error. Sending personal data posed the greatest risk, with 47 data breaches involving data being sent in some form. 59 percent of data breaches are attributable to a malicious or criminal attack, and 5 percent were blamed on a system fault. The quarterly report also reveals that among the categories of personal information involved, 102 breaches involved financial details, 61 breaches involved health information, and 94 breaches involved identity information including passport details.

While the actual number of data breaches comes in at 242, the number of potentially affected individuals is much higher. 55 data breaches affected from 11 to 100 people on each occasion, while one breach affected from 1,000,001 to 10,000,000 individuals.