Peter A Clarke

A Current Affair has used a data breach to embarrass Westpac in piece titled  Bank Documents which aired on Tuesday night.  Some of the facts are contested and the motivations of the “whistle blower”, Mark Hatfeld, bears further examination.  But what is not in dispute is that Westpac bank documents containing the personal information of its customers found their way into the hands of a person not authorised to possess or use them. A Current Affair in their usual hyperbolic way spiced up the story by visiting the people whose personal information was compromised to get their response to the data breach.  The reaction was as expected.

That bank records are taken off premises and not accounted for is a significant privacy breach and the result of poor controls.

It required the  Westpac to issue a statement providing:

Statement from Westpac:

Westpac takes the security and privacy of customer information very seriously and there are extensive protocols in place to ensure the correct handling of documents and other sensitive customer information.

In this particular case, our investigation into the matter indicates the customer documents have been inappropriately obtained. We have referred the matter to the Police. Westpac has repeatedly requested the return of the documents.

We sincerely apologise to our customers who have been involved in this breach. We have been contacting customers and Westpac will ensure the safety and security of their bank accounts.

As you would understand, we are unable to comment on current or former employees.