Federal Court accused of 'obfuscation' as data breach crisis deepens - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The integrity crisis in Australia's court system has deepened with revelations that highly sensitive court data was accessed in India on at least two occasions, sparking national security fears. Internal court emails have revealed that the Federal Court CEO was notified in 2016 of the first data breach, yet no action was taken at the time.

Security concerns were first raised in 2014 by former Auscript national manager Paul Cutbush, who made Public Interest Disclosures (PID) to both the family court and the Federal Court as well as the Australian Federal Police (AFP) about the offshoring of sensitive data. Despite these warnings, neither court acted on the disclosures.

In an email from then-Deputy Principal Registrar John Mathieson to Mr. Cutbush in 2016, he stated: "I have notified Ms Sia Lagos, who is Acting Chief Executive Officer and Principal Registrar of the Federal Court, in Mr Soden's absence, as I am required to do so, of the decisions and determinations I have made under the [Public Interest Disclosure] Act."

Warning signs ignored

The family court responded two years after Mr. Cutbush's disclosures, classifying the breach as "minor and inconsequential" in emails seen by ABC. The family court has denied any current executives had knowledge of the first breach despite Mr. Cutbush's disclosures.

Last week, Mr. Cutbush said the most recent data breach was a "slap in the face" after his concerns were ignored in 2014. Auscript was responsible for court transcription services in 2014 before VIQ Solutions took over around 2020. A second data breach occurred earlier this year when VIQ was managing transcription services, and the company was shut down shortly after.

Cases heard in the Federal Court include critical human rights matters, industrial relations cases, taxation law and matters involving multi-million-dollar corporations while the Federal Circuit and Family Court hears migration cases, and matters involving child sexual abuse, domestic violence and property settlements. It is unclear how many files were accessed in India during either of the offshoring incidents.

Political demands for action

A spokesperson for Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the courts were "responsible for their own operation and management" — a position ridiculed by the Opposition. Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash said the latest developments strengthened the need for a full independent audit coordinated by the Attorney-General.

Greens Leader Senator David Shoebridge took aim at the court's leadership, saying the offshoring of data is "deeply disturbing." "It's almost impossible to believe that we are now facing another round of obfuscation from the Federal Court," he said.

Senator Shoebridge emphasized that "Family court transcripts hold some of the most private and painful moments in people's lives, and twice now that material has gone offshore while the warning signs were ignored by the leadership of the court." He called for the Attorney-General to order a forensic audit across every agency in her portfolio that used Auscript and VIQ transcription services.

The Federal Court said it was currently reviewing a report by CyberCX into the latest data breach. A privacy complaint has also been passed on to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) regarding the offshoring of Australian citizen's data. The Federal Court said it had provided information to the OAIC and the family court said it would "fully cooperate" with the OAIC or any other government inquiry.