"Australia Flags New Corporate Penalties for Privacy Breaches"

Australia recently proposed tougher penalties for companies that fail to protect customers’ personal data after two major cybersecurity breaches left millions vulnerable to criminals.  The penalties for serious breaches of the Privacy Act would increase from 2.2 million Australian dollars ($1.4 million) now to AU$50 million ($32 million) under amendments to be introduced to Parliament next week.  A company could also be fined the value of 30% of its revenues over a defined period if that amount exceeded AU$50 million ($32 million).  Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus stated that “big companies could face penalties up to hundreds of millions of dollars” under the new law.  Dreyfus noted that the new law is designed to make companies think and to be a deterrent so that companies will protect the data of Australians.  

SecurityWeek reports: "Australia Flags New Corporate Penalties for Privacy Breaches"