Australian PM's Banking Info Allegedly Hacked by EY Employees

Australia’s financial sector has come under scrutiny after two Ernst & Young (EY) employees allegedly accessed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s personal banking information without authorisation while on temporary assignment at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). The report, published by the Australian Financial Review (AFR) on Tuesday, said EY dismissed the two employees after the alleged incident. It also claimed the two men had accessed the banking details of Albanese and at least one EY partner. The report said the men are facing criminal charges. Chalmers said the allegations raise serious concerns about the protection of personal information, according to Reuters report citing the AFR. “But I think on the face of it any developments of that kind are incredibly concerning, not just in relation to the PM’s details but any Australians’ details,” Chalmers said. According to the AFR report, the two EY employees were working at Commonwealth Bank on temporary assignments when they allegedly accessed confidential customer records. The report said the bank’s system displayed a warning asking users to confirm that they had permission to view a customer’s confidential information. After confirming they were authorised, the system allegedly allowed them to access the banking records. The report added that Anthony Albanese’s banking details and the details of at least one EY partner were among the information allegedly accessed. A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson said, “It is not appropriate for us to comment on individual contractor matters,” as reported by Reuters. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said it had charged two Sydney men on May 6 over the alleged unauthorised access of restricted personal banking data belonging to a federal parliamentarian. The agency did not identify the parliamentarian involved. According to the AFP, a 21-year-old man faces charges of unauthorised access to restricted data and publishing or distributing personal data. A 25-year-old man has been charged with unauthorised access to restricted data, intending to cause the access and knowing it was unauthorised. Both men received police bail and were scheduled to appear before a Sydney court on Tuesday.