This appeared a little while ago
Fewer Human Services staff caught accessing customer data
By Sally Whyte
March 4, 2019 — 11.58am
The number of Human Services staff found to be accessing customer data without authorisation has been steadily dropping over the past two years, but has increased slightly this year.
In the first half of this financial year, seven public servants have been sacked for breaching the APS code of conduct relating to unauthorised access, the same amount who were sacked in the whole 2017-18 year.
In that year two staff pulled the plug themselves before their employers could.
The Department of Human Services includes Centrelink and Medicare services, meaning staff have access to highly sensitive personal information about millions of Australians. But the way those files are accessed is constantly monitored, meaning staff can't delve into the medical and financial histories of others without the department finding out.
"We use a sophisticated and comprehensive detection program to identify unauthorised access to customer records," Department of Human Services spokesman Hank Jongen said.
In general, the number of staff caught accessing customer documents is dropping. In 2016-17, 167 staff were disciplined regarding unauthorised access, making up 0.5 per cent of staff. Of that number, six were sacked, and another three resigned before the department moved to terminate them.
The number dropped to 85 staff in 2017-18, but has already reached 66 in between July and December last year.
Lots more here:
You have to wonder just exactly what records were being accessed.
It seems to me that the #myHealthRecord is the honey pot to end all honey pots.
This statistics need to be closely watched IMVHO!
David.
1 comment:
It is not the APS I do concerned about, yes they deploy tools and monitor staff, that is standard commercial of the shelf stuff these days. It’s all the busy bodies temping, interns, placements etc... it has become the norm to ‘discover intel online’.
Post a Comment