[AusNOG] Optus Hack

Wed Sep 28 09:44:41 AEST 2022

Hi

There are specific rules for prepaid regarding ID validation and documents which must be checked (https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2017L00399/Html/Text#_Toc478627158). As a Credit Provider, they are also required to validate you are who you say you are before providing credit services. Additionally, telcos also have specific provisions for customer protection requiring credit checks to be run before certain services are provided.

Providers also need to keep enough information to verify you are who you say you are when you make contact though and are required to ensure they don’t disclose information about your account to someone else, which is why many providers keep things like your Date of Birth on file. The requirement to hold PII is required to a degree and is even outlined in the TCP Code with Clause 3.7 covering the storage and security of said information.

Hopefully, this attack will result in some changes not just in our industry but across the board. Maybe something like validating Licences, Medicare, etc against DVS (already commonly done) but then just keeping the Pass/Fail result and Check ID instead of keeping the full details on file could be a way to minimise the amount of data available in a breach like this, but I’m not sure if that would be enough to comply with some of the obligations.

- Jeremy

From: AusNOG <ausnog-bounces at ausnog.net> On Behalf Of James Murphy
Sent: Tuesday, 27 September 2022 11:29 PM
To: Serge Burjak <sburjak at systech.com.au>
Cc: AusNOG Mailing List <ausnog at ausnog.net>
Subject: Re: [AusNOG] Optus Hack

Looking over the Privacy Act and oaic.gov.au, I still can't see any laws about a telco (or any business other than a credit reporting body) storing this level of information - specifically a drivers license number or date of birth (passport number isn't mentioned)

"identification information" is the term that includes a drivers license number and date of birth
"Credit information" is the term that includes "identification information" about an individual (therefor includes drivers license number and date of birth)

There are only laws about how long a credit reporting body stores this information. A credit provider (ie Optus) doesn't need to store it, but does need to provide it to the credit reporting body - so they need to collect it and share it but they don't need to store it.

For the data a telco does need to store - which looks to be added in the "Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979", they all talk about "personal information" (which doesn't specifically include date of birth or drivers license number, so you would be complying with that law if you didn't store those pieces of data - provided you can reasonably identify a person with the data you do store)

From the Privacy Act:

personal information means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:
(a) whether the information or opinion is true or not; and
(b) whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.
Note: Section 187LA of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 extends the meaning of personal information to cover information kept under Part 5-1A of that Act.

So the argument that they need to store this by law - to me (a software developer/techy who sometimes can spend hours reading shit like this trying to pick holes in it - so: not a lawyer) - doesn't seem valid.

If this is required by law, I would love to understand how (ie which laws/acts cover it)

On 27 Sep 2022, at 16:46, Serge Burjak <sburjak at systech.com.au<mailto:sburjak at systech.com.au>> wrote:

https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/the-privacy-act

Covers it pretty well.

On Tue, 27 Sept 2022 at 16:36, James Murphy <jamesmurphyau at me.com<mailto:jamesmurphyau at me.com>> wrote:

Does anyone know which laws cover the data they were keeping?

Did a search for anything with "telecommunication" in the name (link), found 71 results and downloaded 73 PDF files (C2022C00170 Telecommunications Act 1997 had 3 files, all others had 1 file), and can't find anything that mentions keeping this level of data.

The closest thing I found was in the following:

C2022C00151 - Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979
C2015A00039 - Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Act 2015
C2021A00078 - Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (International Production Orders) Act 2021

which contained the following two sections that seem to cover identification information - there doesn't seem to be anything that says they need to collect or store to the level that Optus seems to have done.. Almost reads like you could store name and address (without DOB?) and that would be adequate enough (but I'm not a lawyer so who knows).. Am I looking in the wrong place/at the wrong laws?

13 Identification of a particular person
For the purposes of this Schedule, a particular person may be identified:
(a) by the person’s full name; or
(b) by a name by which the person is commonly known; or
(c) as the person to whom a particular individual transmission service is supplied; or
(d) as the person to whom a particular individual message/call application service is provided; or
(e) as the person who has a particular account with a prescribed communications provider; or
(f) as the person who has a particular telephone number; or
(g) as the person who has a particular email address; or
(h) as the person who has a particular internet protocol address; or
(i) as the person who has a device that has a particular unique identifier (for example, an electronic serial number or a Media Access Control address); or
(j) by any other unique identifying factor that is applicable to the person.

and

187AA Information to be kept
(1) The following table sets out the kinds of information that a service provider must keep, or cause to be kept, under subsection 187A(1):
Item

1

Topic

The subscriber of, and accounts, services, telecommunications devices and other relevant services relating to, the relevant service

Description of information

The following:

(a) any information that is one or both of the following:

(i) any name or address information;

(ii) any other information for identification purposes;

relating to the relevant service, being information used by the service provider for the purposes of identifying the subscriber of the relevant service;

(b) any information relating to any contract, agreement or arrangement relating to the relevant service, or to any related account, service or device;

(c) any information that is one or both of the following:

(i) billing or payment information;

(ii) contact information;

relating to the relevant service, being information used by the service provider in relation to the relevant service;

(d) any identifiers relating to the relevant service or any related account, service or device, being information used by the service provider in relation to the relevant service or any related account, service or device;

(e) he status of the relevant service, or any related account, service or device.

On 27 Sep 2022, at 11:12, Nathan Brookfield <Nathan.Brookfield at iperium.com.au<mailto:Nathan.Brookfield at iperium.com.au>> wrote:

They’re legally obligated to retain it but why it’s on the API and why it’s not encrypted.

Looking at the data some fields are hashed and then repeated in the bloody clear :(

On 27 Sep 2022, at 11:02, glenn.satchell at uniq.com.au<mailto:glenn.satchell at uniq.com.au> wrote:

My understanding was that the data included the 100 points of ID info. Why are they retaining this? Surely after confirming the 100 points there only needs to be a record "100 points provided"=true and not retain the actual details. This goes back to only keeping the private data you need.

regards,
Glenn

On 2022-09-27 10:49, Damien Gardner Jnr wrote:

Personally, I find putting Authentication on my API endpoints to be a
FANTASTIC first step towards API security.  And then not even using
public IP addresses in test environments is a pretty good second
step..  </onlyhalfsarcasticherewhydoesthiskeephappening>
On Tue, 27 Sept 2022 at 10:46, Bevan Slattery <bevan at slattery.net.au<mailto:bevan at slattery.net.au>>
wrote:

Hi everyone,
Obviously a big week in telco and cybersecurity.  As part of my work
I am on the Australian Cyber Security Industry Advisory Committee as
an industry representative.
I am keen to look at opening up a dialogue with more and more telco,
DC and Cloud CISO’s on what they are doing around this issue and
looking to take a proactive step towards best practice on customer
data and system security.
There will be some pretty serious consequences of this hack on the
industry and importantly we need to make sure we are as best placed
to help each other continually increase in security posture through
best practice, but also working with each other as an industry.
Are people keen on having a online/VC session sometime in the next
few weeks where like-minded industry participants get together and
discuss security, retention, encryption, threat detection etc.?  If
so, just ping me directly and if there is enough interest I will
send out an invitation to the list for a call.
Cheers
[b]
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We ran to the sounds of thunder.
We danced among the lightning bolts,
and tore the world asunder
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