By Eleanor Wilson and Cam Lucadou-Wells
A leading cyber-security firm says local councils need greater data security training to keep user information safe, after the City of Casey’s Bunjil Place e-newsletter service fell victim to a cyber attack last month.
International cyber-security firm Varonis said attacks on public service organisations show how important it is for companies to have tight control over their data.
It comes after the service provider of City of Casey’s Bunjil Place e-newsletter, WordFly, endured a security incident on 16 July, potentially compromising the names and email addresses of thousands of users.
In a statement to email subscribers, the City of Casey clarified that the incident did not affect any other council e-newsletters, which are sent via different email providers.
“On Saturday 16 July, WordFly confirmed that names and email addresses of those subscribed to the Bunjil Place e-newsletter may have been impacted,” the council stated.
“There is currently no evidence that any of this data has been misused.”
The council added that users’ Bunjil Place accounts, which contain more sensitive information, are not stored in WordFly and were not affected by the incident.
“While we are awaiting further information from WordFly, please be extra vigilant of potential phishing or spam emails you might receive.”
City of Greater Dandenong IT executive manager Michelle Hansen said the council had an “ongoing education program” to improve staff awareness of cyber security issues and threats to reduce the risk.
“Council invests in network security monitoring tools and undertakes regular security audits to ensure the protection of its data which is also governed by security protocols.”
Scott Leach, vice president of Asia Pacific-Japan at Varonis said hackers, particularly those develop ..
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