Australia’s ’snooping bureaucrats’
p2pnet news | security:- Australia’s federal government says it’s found dozens of examples of “snooping bureaucrats” improperly accessing confidential client records.
The news comes on the heels of the launch of new systems to track snooping, says Australian IT, going on:
“The crackdown has led to a spate of resignations and the Child Support Agency is reviewing a number of breaches as it considers whether or not to press criminal charges against former employees.”
Only a year ago, staff at the Australian Taxation Office were caught accessing client records that they weren’t authorised to view, says the story, adding:
“Child Support Agency general manager Matt Miller said breaches by employees were uncovered after its fraud detection systems were strengthened in November last year.”
Medicare Australia, meanwhile, “has confirmed 49 instances of staff inappropriately browsing confidential records after it launched a review program during the 2007 financial year,” says Australian IT, adding:
“The program included the introduction of a detection system that was modelled on data matching rules used by Centrelink, which has uncovered more than 790 instances of staff spying since 2004.”
Also See:
Australian IT – Crackdown on public service snoops, August 21, 2007
http://digg.com/security/Australia_s_snooping_bureaucrats
