A government initiative put in place in the wake of the 2022 Optus data breach has blocked more than 300,000 fraudulent attempts to use stolen Australian data online.
A national register of stolen data was created after the Optus scandal, recording any data stolen from Australian firms. The data from this register is then matched with any online attempts to use that data.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus told the ABC the program has been a success so far, and is an effective additional layer of protection for Australians.
“It protects them from further harm by preventing their stolen credentials being used as forms of identity,” he said.
“It’s a rapid response that’ll help prevent black market sales of stolen identity credentials. It’ll disrupt other illegal activities that rely on those stolen credentials, things like scams, money laundering and fraud.”
This is good news for sure, but Scamwatch data shows Aussies have already lost a whopping $55 million in scams so far this year, so there is still some way to go.
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