Some professions are experiencing severe talent shortages, even as salaries soar and job demand increases.
Professor George Newhouse, from Centennial Law, said his team plans to launch a class action lawsuit against Medibank as desperate individuals affected by the data breach want to take action. “We will be commencing proceedings in a week or so,” Newhouse told Sky News Australia. “We think it's vital that Medibank address these issues as soon as possible. We have people who are alleging they've been stalked and they have terrible fears that their addresses will be disclosed through a data breach.”
AustCyber's Australia's Cyber Security Sector Competitiveness Plan was released this week, outlining the risks to the community amid a growing threat from hackers.
The report predicts that the industry will face a shortage of 3,000 cybersecurity workers by 2026.
Cyber Security Minister Claire O'Neill hosted an event about the report. Photo: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman
The report says the number of cyber attacks in Australia is expected to double over the next five years, threatening a staffing shortage.
Australians are already under threat of cyber attacks, experiencing such an incident every one to two minutes, with 745 cyber attacks reported per day in 2021.
The average annual salary for a cybersecurity worker in Australia is $120,000, with starting salaries starting at $100,000.
The report cites a lack of funding as the cause of the worsening talent shortage, stating that Australian cybersecurity start-ups receive 300 times less funding than their international peer leaders.
The historic cyber attacks on Optus and Medibank have already seen the data of millions of Australians accessed.
Personal information of 9.8 million Optus customers was stolen in one of Australia's largest data breaches. Photo: Brendon Thorn/Getty Images
In September, the data of around 10 million Optus customers was accessed by hackers, with thousands of passports, driving licences and Medicare numbers stolen in the attack.
Last month alone, the personal details of more than 9.7 million Australians were stolen and the credentials of senior Medibank staff were sold to hackers via cybercrime forums.
Russian hackers launched a cyber attack on Medibank, stealing the personal details of 9.7 million people, including the Australian prime minister, police said. Photo: Mohammed Farooq/AFP
The Medibank hackers have begun releasing the records of those caught up in the attack, including medical records relating to substance abuse and abortions.
Professor Nicholas Biddle, co-author of an Australian National University study into the prevalence of hacking, said cybercrime was one of the fastest growing criminal activities facing Australians.
“Nearly a third of Australian adults – about 6.4 million people – have been victims of a breach in the past 12 months,” Professor Biddle, from the Australian National University's Centre for Social Research Methods, said.
