Big superannuation funds could face fines and possible class actions over a cyber breach which led to four members of one super fund losing half a million dollars combined. It has led to questions over whether funds have properly protected member’s accounts.
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00:00Members of some of the country's biggest superannuation funds are still struggling to access their
00:08accounts after a suspected cyber breach. Four Australian supermembers have lost half a million
00:16dollars combined. The fund says it's working with those members but won't say whether they'll
00:21get their money back.
00:23There would be some liability on the superannuation firm to ensure that their members' accounts
00:29were protected, so I think it's just a bit early to get down that path.
00:34With only those of retirement age able to access funds, it's likely to be over 60-year-olds
00:40who've been victims of the attack. The ABC has heard from members who are angry and confused
00:46about what's happening with their retirement savings, and they've raised questions over
00:51whether their accounts were properly protected.
00:55Australian Super says it has an ongoing program for improving cybersecurity and it has a two-factor
01:02authentication process for a number of interactions. Some are required, others are opt-in.
01:09It would make a lot more sense for multi-factor authentication to be the norm as opposed to
01:14an opt-in.
01:15While it will take time to investigate what's happened, like Medibank and Optus, the superfunds
01:21could face class actions or fines in the wake of the security breach.
01:27Financial services is one of the most highly regulated sectors in Australia and there are
01:31heavy fines for breaches of their different obligations.
01:35Superfunds responsible for trillions of dollars are being warned to remain vigilant to increasing
01:41cyber attacks. Fiona Blackwood, ABC News.