Merri-bek City Council has been notified of a cyber security incident involving OracleCMS, a supplier who supports Council in taking calls made to our Customer Service Centre after hours and at other times as needed.

The incident includes a data breach of customer contact details and records of calls handled by OracleCMS on Council’s behalf.

OracleCMS is used by many local councils across Victoria and we understand this issue is affecting a number of organisations including other councils. 

We take the privacy of our customers very seriously and we are taking action to address this issue.

When OracleCMS takes calls on Council’s behalf, the calls may include the collection of personal details, including name, phone number, email or address.

We would like to reassure customers that the data did not include high risk personal details such as banking accounts, date of birth, licence or passport.

An assessment of data involved in the cyber security incident has been undertaken.

Council has contacted customers directly to provide advice and guidance to reduce the risk of any information being misused – as a precaution. 

Council has also engaged IDCARE, Australia’s national identity and cyber support community service, to support affected customers, free of charge.

Merri-bek City Council’s own systems and databases have not been accessed. This data breach relates to OracleCMS systems only.

Council is working with government authorities to address this incident and support affected customers.

We apologise for any concerns or inconvenience this incident may cause.

For more information, please contact Council’s Customer Service or the Privacy Officer about this incident, by either email: dataenquiries@merri-bek.vic.gov.au or phone 9240 1111, Monday to Friday, 8.30am-5.00pm. Or contact IDCARE www.idcare.org.

Customers can contact IDCARE from 8am-5pm AEST Monday to Friday. Phone: 1800 595 160 or Victoria: (03) 7018 2366 or complete an online Get Help form at Get Help - Expert & Specialised Support from IDCARE and they will make contact with you. Please note: When engaging IDCARE please use the referral code CMSVGMCC24.

Read our previous update to the community: https://www.merri-bek.vic.gov.au/my-council/news-and-publications/news/data-breach-incident-involving-oracle-cms/

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Cyber safety – what you can do

• It is important to always be vigilant with cyber safety.
• Be aware of scams, suspicious emails, phone calls or text messages.
• To increase your protection, you can strengthen your password, set up multi-factor authentication and ensure you have the latest anti-virus software installed.
• For more information about online safety by visiting the Victorian Government’s Stay Safe Online
• IDCare has set up an “Oracle CMS” incident page providing support advice to impacted individuals: idcare.org/oracle-incident-response