Two brothers – Paul Issa and Phillip Issa – fronted court in Sydney this week, both facing criminal charges after allegedly accessing the personal banking details of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The younger brother, 21-year-old Paul, was a graduate employee of consulting firm EY and on secondment to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia at the time of the alleged offence. He has since been sacked by the firm.

Neither the Issa brothers nor EY have publicly commented on the case. Noting that the matter was still before the courts, Albanese told ABC News Breakfast on Wednesday it was “appropriate that charges have been laid” and that:

accessing anyone’s privacy, any Australian’s privacy, is alarming.

accessing anyone’s privacy, any Australian’s privacy, is alarming.

Regardless of the outcome of this case, these allegations raise some obvious questions.

Who – among bank staff, regulators, technology providers and other third parties – can access our private financial data?

What protections are in place to stop them misusing it? And are there any steps we can take to protect ourselves?

Who can see my bank details?

Within a bank (or other financial institution, such as a superannuation fund), access to your personal information is not a free-for-all.

Authorised access is generally determined by a staff member’s role and responsibilities. It is also........

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