Aussie Broadband has been fined $213,120 by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for not properly recording phone numbers in a directory service used by emergency services and law enforcement agencies.
ACMA said its investigation found the telco failed to provide customer information to the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) on more than 30,000 occasions between November 2021 and May 2022.
The agency attributed the issue to "a technical issue" with Aussie Broadband’s error reporting software.
The IPND service is used by Triple Zero to help locate people in an emergency, for the Emergency Alert Service to warn of emergencies like flood or bushfire, and to assist law enforcement activities.
ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said Aussie Broadband’s failure to upload customer information to the secure database was unacceptable and potentially put its customers’ safety at risk in an emergency.
“While we are not aware anyone was harmed due to the breaches, it is alarming that Aussie Broadband did not have effective processes in place to identify that its customer information was not being provided for over 6 months,” O’Loughlin said.
“While the breaches should not have occurred, we are pleased to see Aussie Broadband moved quickly to upload the missing data once it was brought to its attention and has taken steps to comply in future.”
ACMA has also given Aussie Broadband a direction requiring ongoing compliance with the data rules, or else the telco would risk further action, including being taken to court or more fines of up to $250,000 per breach.
The agency said it has taken action against 30 telcos for non-compliance with the IPND rules since 2018, racking up some $4 million in penalties.
Aussie Broadband Fined $200k over customer safety breach