As data breaches increase and public trust is shaken, Australia has moved forward with a bold reform of its Privacy Act, marking one of the most significant regulatory changes in the digital history . To decode what these changes mean for businesses, The Cyber Express spoke to Madhuri Nandi, Head of Security at Till Payments in Australia.
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With nearly 20 years of experience in cybersecurity leadership, Nandi offers an insightful perspective on the impact of these changes on legal, IT and security teams. In the interview, she highlights how the scale of recent breaches in Australia was the catalyst for the review of the Privacy Act, exposing the outdated nature of previous regulations. She explains that the definition of personal data has now been expanded to include behavioral and inferential data, increasing the liability of companies that collect and process user information.
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Nandi also points to a cultural shift: where privacy was once considered a simple procedural obligation, legal and cybersecurity teams now collaborate from the earliest stages of a product's lifecycle.
Regarding the broader opportunity, he adds: “Businesses that respect data today are the ones that will gain customer trust and competitive advantage tomorrow.” The discussion also touches on the role of artificial intelligence and the risks associated with personal data, as well as the enhanced powers of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), to conduct audits of organizations without a formal complaint.
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With the revision of the Australian Privacy Act and the broadening of the definition of personal data, companies can no longer view protection simply as a legal obligation addressed at the end of a product’s development. Instead, data protection must be built in from the start, with cross-functional collaboration between legal, technical and business teams.
Source: thecyberexpress
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