Aussie Auditor Advises Rethinking E-Security

Those worried the U.S. government isn't mobilizing fast enough to protect computer networks might take some comfort from a story out of Australia. An auditor is taking one Australian state to task for not doing enough to ensure people's private information is secure, despite a 10-year push to improve protection, according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Peter Achterstraat, auditor general of New South Wales, the most populous state in Australia and home to Sydney, said in a report that the New South Wales government needs to rethink its electronic security policy. Ineffective monitoring means officials do not know if agencies have adopted proper safeguards, the newspaper reported.

According to Achterstraat, at least two-thirds of New South Wales agencies have not followed the latest security edict and the rest have only partially complied.

"People often have no choice but to entrust their sensitive personal data to

government. Government needs to ensure this information is secure, otherwise it could

be stolen, records changed, privacy breached," Achterstraat said in a news release.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, recent breaches include hackers stealing applicants' details from the government website Jobs NSW. The hackers them spammed the applicants with e-mail messages and the site went down for weeks.