The Australian Government’s Digital ID Scheme is being expanded to encompass state governments and the private sector via a newTrusted Digital ID Framework. For law firms, Digital ID can streamline identification processes and reduce risks.

As Australia heads into 2025, sweeping reforms are transforming our digital landscape. The landmark Cyber Security Act 2024, alongside major privacy and Digital ID reforms, signals a significant overhaul of Australia's digital regulations. From mandatory ransomware payments reporting to enhanced privacy protections and a new Digital ID framework, these changes set clear expectations for how organisations handle cyber threats and personal information. With implementation deadlines approaching, businesses and government agencies face crucial decisions about compliance and digital security. Discover how these reforms will reshape Australia's digital future and what your organisation needs to know to prepare for the changes ahead.

To mark Privacy Awareness Week from 6 to 12 May 2024, we’re sharing Privacy Act updates with important legal changes that may impact your organisation.

The 2023 cyber incident affecting HWL Ebsworth was hardly the first data breach to have an impact on an Australian legal practice, but it was the largest and most devastating in terms of impact across individuals and sectors.

In October 2023 Law & Cyber was invited by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement to file a submission on the capability of law enforcement to respond to cybercrime.

In the world of cyber risk, it’s often said that “humans are the weakest link,” which can be an exercise in blaming and shaming that is hardly helpful and puts a huge and unfair responsibility on individuals who may make a single, understandable mistake.

With cybersecurity breaches again in the news, and the announcement of Australia’s first cybersecurity coordinator to lead responses to cyber-attacks, we wanted to share some crucial insights that could significantly impact your law firm's security and reputation. Cybersecurity breaches result in serious financial losses, legal and regulatory non-compliance, and reputational damage. Cybercrime has become the number one business risk that law firms must prepare for.

This article has been accepted for Publication in IEEE Xplore and is © IEEE.

The banking system is part of Australia’s critical infrastructure, and integrity and trust in transactions is essential to our financial system.

Data breaches at scale: implications of the Optus and Medibank breaches.

The recent spate of reported cyber-attacks is likely due to both increased frequency and greater reporting obligations under Australian law.

Business email compromise is an insidious and increasingly common means of fraud that poses a threat to any businesses, especially law firms, that act as trustees in large transactions.

Even without a formally recognised duty of technological competence, such a duty might be inferred by an Australian court having regard to reported levels of cybercrime, other professional duties and the official warnings by regulatory bodies.

The choice between paying a ransom and either losing all your business records or seeing confidential client information lost or published is one that no practitioner ever wants to make.

The choice between paying a ransom and either losing all your business records or seeing confidential client information lost or published is one that no practitioner ever wants to make.

A potentially costly ransomware attack on a major American law firm is a reminder for all firms to educate their employees about cyber risks at a time when more people are working during the COVID-19 crisis

Three types of insurance – PII, cyber and crime cover may be required for comprehensive protection.

Cybercrime is challenging organisations everywhere, with daily news stories about businesses, government organisations and even global IT companies that have been hacked. Law societies and insurers have been warning lawyers about cyber risk, in particular…

Conveyancers have been early adaptors of electronic conveyancing, which has been mandatory for all mainstream property transactions in NSW since 1 July 2019. With the commencement of this new era it is timely to consider the lessons that have been (and can still be) learned about cyber risk and resilience in conveyancing.

Cyber risk may be a modern phenomenon, but the old adage about an ounce of prevention being better than a pound of cure still applies.

Unless training is provided and proper accounts processes are in place, employees will often action fake payment requests that appear to come from a senior officer within the organisation.