Latest news with #AustralianSuper
West Australian
6 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Australia must prepare for Hollywood-style cyber attack
Australia has yet to suffer a critical, Hollywood-style cyber security incident, according to the nation's top online cop, but our defences are being tested and criminals grow in number. The rate of cyber attacks against Australian businesses may also be higher than statistics indicate, she warned as small businesses continue bearing the brunt of financial losses. National Cyber Security Co-ordinator Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness issued the warnings at the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference on the Gold Coast on Friday, while also promising public consultation to inform future online safety policies. The event has drawn 900 delegates and comes a month after large superannuation firms were targeted in a co-ordinated online attack and less than a year after 12.9 million Australians had private information stolen in the Medisecure hack. Despite a growing number of attacks on large Australian organisations including healthcare, telecommunications and legal firms, Lt Gen McGuinness told the audience none had damaged the nation's critical infrastructure or had a lasting impact. "Australia has seen the dark side of significant cyber incidents such as Optus, Medibank, Latitude Financial, HWL Ebsworth, Ramsay Health Care and Medisecure (but) we are actually yet to see a catastrophic cyber incident with impacts across multiple critical infrastructure sectors," she said. "We must continue to evolve and thrive to ensure that those scenes we see in Hollywood never actually eventuate." The most recent high-profile cyber attack in which criminals stole $750,000 from 10 AustralianSuper accounts had been the result of a "credential-stuffing attack", Lt Gen McGuinness confirmed, involving criminals using passwords leaked from another data breach. Financial losses from the attack were "relatively small" but aimed at a large financial market, she said, and should serve as a reminder for all parties to bolster online defences. The Annual Cyber Threat Report released in November found Australian cyber crime reports grew by 12 per cent in 2024 and the cost of attacks to individuals grew by 17 per cent to an average of $30,700. Cyber crime's cost to businesses fell by eight per cent according to the report, but Lt Gen McGuinness said the true cost of online crime was likely to be significantly higher given most Australian businesses were categorised as small and lost an average of $49,600 per incident. "These businesses don't have the staff and the resources to have dedicated IT professionals or security functions, let alone the capacity to respond to an incident without help," she said. "Our adversaries also know this." Australian businesses of all sizes should develop and practise incident response plans to avoid data theft, she said, and should refrain from paying ransoms demanded by criminals if possible to avoid being re-targeted. The Australian Cyber Security Strategy, launched in November 2023, is due to be updated by 2026 to address a broader range of cyber security investments, and a public consultation will be launched in the coming months.
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Australia must prepare for Hollywood-style cyber attack
Australia has yet to suffer a critical, Hollywood-style cyber security incident, according to the nation's top online cop, but our defences are being tested and criminals grow in number. The rate of cyber attacks against Australian businesses may also be higher than statistics indicate, she warned as small businesses continue bearing the brunt of financial losses. National Cyber Security Co-ordinator Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness issued the warnings at the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference on the Gold Coast on Friday, while also promising public consultation to inform future online safety policies. The event has drawn 900 delegates and comes a month after large superannuation firms were targeted in a co-ordinated online attack and less than a year after 12.9 million Australians had private information stolen in the Medisecure hack. Despite a growing number of attacks on large Australian organisations including healthcare, telecommunications and legal firms, Lt Gen McGuinness told the audience none had damaged the nation's critical infrastructure or had a lasting impact. "Australia has seen the dark side of significant cyber incidents such as Optus, Medibank, Latitude Financial, HWL Ebsworth, Ramsay Health Care and Medisecure (but) we are actually yet to see a catastrophic cyber incident with impacts across multiple critical infrastructure sectors," she said. "We must continue to evolve and thrive to ensure that those scenes we see in Hollywood never actually eventuate." The most recent high-profile cyber attack in which criminals stole $750,000 from 10 AustralianSuper accounts had been the result of a "credential-stuffing attack", Lt Gen McGuinness confirmed, involving criminals using passwords leaked from another data breach. Financial losses from the attack were "relatively small" but aimed at a large financial market, she said, and should serve as a reminder for all parties to bolster online defences. The Annual Cyber Threat Report released in November found Australian cyber crime reports grew by 12 per cent in 2024 and the cost of attacks to individuals grew by 17 per cent to an average of $30,700. Cyber crime's cost to businesses fell by eight per cent according to the report, but Lt Gen McGuinness said the true cost of online crime was likely to be significantly higher given most Australian businesses were categorised as small and lost an average of $49,600 per incident. "These businesses don't have the staff and the resources to have dedicated IT professionals or security functions, let alone the capacity to respond to an incident without help," she said. "Our adversaries also know this." Australian businesses of all sizes should develop and practise incident response plans to avoid data theft, she said, and should refrain from paying ransoms demanded by criminals if possible to avoid being re-targeted. The Australian Cyber Security Strategy, launched in November 2023, is due to be updated by 2026 to address a broader range of cyber security investments, and a public consultation will be launched in the coming months.
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
It's time to ask: do you know what your super is really supporting?
Almost every Australian has money in superannuation. With a total of $4.2tn held in super at the end of 2024, ours is one of the world's largest pension markets. That's some serious buying power, and therefore influence, that super funds have. But is that money doing harm or doing good? Will van de Pol pays close attention to the actions of super funds. As the CEO of Market Forces, he helps hold Australian financial institutions to account for their roles in practices that harm the environment and exacerbate climate change. 'Unfortunately, most super funds don't make it easy for the average punter to wade through the thousands of lines of data to get to the truth,' van de Pol says. To counter this lack of transparency, Market Forces analyses how much Australia's big super funds are investing in the world's biggest climate wreckers. At the end of 2023, more than $39bn held in the default or largest investment options with 30 of Australia's largest super funds was invested in companies that were driving climate damage with their coal, oil and gas expansion plans, Market Forces research found. However, van de Pol says, it doesn't have to be this way. The eight largest super funds manage the majority of our retirement savings, and in March 2024 they collectively owned almost 25% of Australian listed shares. This is our money being invested. And by extension, we have a role in what happens to it. Alison George is the chief impact and ethics officer at Australian Ethical, a Certified B Corp super fund that believes in steering capital towards companies that are doing good and away from those that aren't. Its ethical charter governs where and how it invests, with guiding principles that align with UN sustainable development goals. 'For most people, it might be difficult to touch those issues,' George says, 'but their superannuation money is one of the things that lets them have some power.' With so many shares under their control, van de Pol says, Australia's big super funds have significant power to influence how companies act. 'That's where our power comes in,' he says. 'Our power as a collective community that is ensuring that our retirement savings are being used in a way that shepherds our economy to a stable warming outcome and provides a world worth retiring into.' George says: 'Large investors, like super funds, do have quite a lot of power. As an individual or a shareholder, you don't have the ability to open all the doors that a big investor can. When [large] investors then also collaborate and align around things that matter and work with civil society and not-for-profits, they can take that even further.' In listed companies, every shareholder typically has the right to one vote per share, so if a super fund holds lots of shares, it may be able to sway a company's decisions. However, shareholders – including super funds – can abstain from voting, allowing choices to be made without challenging them. Van de Pol says: 'The vast majority of funds are failing to use that power to push polluters far enough and fast enough on climate action. We can see that by the fact that companies are continuing to drive up real-world emissions by pursuing new oil and gas projects.' Withholding votes against actions such as these, he says, effectively constitutes an endorsement. When members challenge their super funds over fossil fuel investments, the most common response is that the funds are hoping to change big-polluter behaviour from the inside. 'That's awesome and great if they're delivering on that promise, but it is not how we are seeing things play out at the moment.' Since 2022, Australian funds have been legally required to disclose their investment holdings, including the name, market value and proportion of assets in each portfolio. This information is usually listed on funds' websites, though there's no requirement that they make it easy to find. If you want easy-to-access information, Market Forces research is a good start. Many of us try to do the right thing about our consumption choices George says: 'It's important to recognise that it's your money and it's a big choice. Many of us try to do the right thing about our consumption choices. You may as well put it into something that's a big choice that maybe makes a difference.' George says a lack of clear information from some funds can itself reveal something about their actions. If your fund is making ethical investment decisions, they'll be upfront about it, she says. 'They will want to talk about it, because it's something that they're committing business resources to doing.' When we start working, our employer has to make super contributions on our behalf, and may use a default fund if we don't nominate one. That means many Australians are put into a fund, and may never have taken a close look at it. The good news is almost all of us have the right to choose a different fund – and it's easy to switch. Using an analysis tool such as Market Forces or Responsible Returns can help members find out what their super funds are doing and find funds that better suit their ethical positions. The process of switching is relatively simple. At any time, you can choose to join a new fund and notify your employer so they can pay contributions to your new account. If you have accounts with multiple super funds, you also have the option to consolidate them into a single account. You may want to seek independent financial advice to help with your decision-making. Van de Pol says the degree and ease of choice should give Australians hope that their super can do good. 'That hope comes from the power that we have as individuals,' he says. 'Collectively, making decisions to align our finances with our values has the power to shift the entire superannuation industry into gear.' Super funds have an obligation to act in the best financial interests of their members, van de Pol says. 'So, it is really up to all of us to make our voices heard and ensure that that giant multi-trillion-dollar pot of money is held to account and is directed in a way that delivers us a stable and clean world to retire into.' Learn more about how Australian Ethical can invest your money to help build the future you want for yourself, your family and the world. This information is general in nature and is not intended to provide you with financial advice or take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on the information, consider its appropriateness to your circumstances and read the PDS and TMD at Issued by Australian Ethical Investment Ltd (ABN 47 003 188 930, AFSL 229949)
Sydney Morning Herald
19-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Our super funds are good at making money but face a rising challenge
Superannuation funds will need to keep getting bigger through mergers, says KPMG, as the $4.2 trillion sector tackles rising costs, and a run of high-profile incidents revealed gaps in the services provided to members. While Australia's super funds continue to grow, and latest fund returns have been solid, the past year has been a rocky one for the sector. Some notable funds were rocked by landmark court cases from the corporate watchdog and five came under major cyberattacks. In November, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission launched court proceedings against Cbus Super for delays in failing to process death and disability insurance claims, which cost their members $20 million. Then in March, ASIC released a damning report on industry-wide failures to process death and disability benefit claims after it sued AustralianSuper for failing to process close to 7000 death insurance claims earlier the same month. The challenging year for the industry continued in April when thousands of Australians' accounts were accessed in a cyberattack on five super funds. Four customers of AustralianSuper lost a combined total of $500,000. In a report published on Tuesday, KPMG says meeting the growing expectations of customer service from members would be a key focus for funds, while they also grappled with higher operating costs. The KPMG report, which analysed data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, shows per-member operating costs across the industry increased from $230 to $237 in the 2023-24 financial year. Loading Head of asset and wealth management at KPMG, Linda Elkins, said that with costs creeping up, super funds needed to manage their spending while continuing to improve customer experience and mitigating risks like cyberattacks. Super funds have been consolidating through a series of mergers in recent years, and Elkins said one way for funds to deal with the extra costs was by joining forces.
The Age
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Our super funds are good at making money but face a rising challenge
Superannuation funds will need to keep getting bigger through mergers, says KPMG, as the $4.2 trillion sector tackles rising costs, and a run of high-profile incidents revealed gaps in the services provided to members. While Australia's super funds continue to grow, and latest fund returns have been solid, the past year has been a rocky one for the sector. Some notable funds were rocked by landmark court cases from the corporate watchdog and five came under major cyberattacks. In November, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission launched court proceedings against Cbus Super for delays in failing to process death and disability insurance claims, which cost their members $20 million. Then in March, ASIC released a damning report on industry-wide failures to process death and disability benefit claims after it sued AustralianSuper for failing to process close to 7000 death insurance claims earlier the same month. The challenging year for the industry continued in April when thousands of Australians' accounts were accessed in a cyberattack on five super funds. Four customers of AustralianSuper lost a combined total of $500,000. In a report published on Tuesday, KPMG says meeting the growing expectations of customer service from members would be a key focus for funds, while they also grappled with higher operating costs. The KPMG report, which analysed data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, shows per-member operating costs across the industry increased from $230 to $237 in the 2023-24 financial year. Loading Head of asset and wealth management at KPMG, Linda Elkins, said that with costs creeping up, super funds needed to manage their spending while continuing to improve customer experience and mitigating risks like cyberattacks. Super funds have been consolidating through a series of mergers in recent years, and Elkins said one way for funds to deal with the extra costs was by joining forces.
