The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has discovered that 11 Australian telecommunications companies have failed in their obligation to provide accurate and updated information about their subscribers to the public database used to warn of emergencies, disasters and potential threats to security.
ACMA has directed the companies to provide the data to the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND), declaring their failure “very concerning”.
Chair of ACMA, Nerida O’Loughlin said telcos were required to provide specific customer information, including phone numbers and addresses, to the secure IPND industry database used to assist the emergency call service (Triple Zero), the emergency alert system, and law enforcement and national security agencies.
“While the ACMA is not aware of any specific instances of harm caused by the missing or inaccurate information, the scale of the issue and its potential impact on emergency services is very concerning,” Ms O’Loughlin said.
“The recent ACMA investigations found the majority of the breaches of the Telecommunications Act and the IPND Industry Code concerned Singtel Optus Pty Limited (Optus), Telstra Corporation Limited (Telstra) and Vodafone Australia Pty Limited (Vodafone).”
She said ACMA had taken steps to ensure telcos prioritised remediation of their records and that the underlying causes of the breaches were identified and addressed.
“The telcos have been directed to undertake independent audits of their processes, conduct data reconciliations and comply with the IPND Code,” Ms O’Loughlin said.
“Optus, Telstra and Symbio have also been directed to address outstanding missing and inaccurate records.”
She said the telcos faced penalties of up to $10 million if they failed to comply with the remedial directions, and up to $250,000 for the directions to comply.
