DATA SECURITY

Sensitive email backup tapes go AWOL

RUBBISH tips were searched by Telstra staff in a desperate attempt to recover classified government emails stored in a wheelie bin and accidentally dumped, a Senate committee has been told. ASIO, the Defence Signals Directorate and the Australian Federal Police remain on alert to establish whether encrypted data was reused.
The serious breach of security prompted Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Dr Peter Shergold to write to Telstra chief executive Ziggy Switkowski expressing 'extreme concern'.
Email back-up tapes from five government departments and agencies recording correspondence classified as protected were lost in the incident involving IT contractor, Telstra Enterprise Services. The Senate committee heard that Dr Shergold criticised the 'negligence of TES staff in the protection of this Commonwealth information'.

[Missing? Or intentionally destroyed?: Opposition Senator Kate Lundy said "The missing files are for the month of March 2003 — the month Australia committed troops to Iraq. This outrageous security blunder has exposed the Government's hypocrisy over security issues. Highly sensitive confidential emails have gone missing without adequate explanation, yet Telstra doesn't even get a slap on the wrist."]