Australia unveils privacy rule changes after Optus data breach

FILE PHOTO: A woman uses her mobile phone as she walks past in front of an Optus shop in Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia on Thursday proposed an overhaul of consumer privacy rules that will help facilitate targeted data sharing between telecommunication firms and banks following a massive data breach at Optus, the country's second largest mobile operator.

Last month's cyber attack on Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel), was one of Australia's biggest data breaches, and compromised data of up to 10 million customers including home addresses, drivers' licenses and passport numbers.