Hochtief AG admits to insider trading contravention

ASIC has started legal action in the Federal Court of Australia against German construction group holding company Hochtief Aktiengesellschaft (Hochtief AG), seeking a declaration of contravention and a financial penalty order against the company for insider trading.

ASIC’s action centres on the early 2014 on-market acquisition of ordinary shares of Leighton Holdings Limited (now called CIMIC Group Limited) (ASX code: LEI) by Hochtief AG’s subsidiary, Hochtief Australia Holdings Limited (HAHL).

ASIC alleges that Hochtief AG contravened the insider trading provisions of the Corporations Act by procuring HAHL to acquire LEI when, on, 29 January 2014, it varied previous instructions to acquire a large parcel of LEI (by pushing out the last day to purchase the shares from 31 January 2014 to 14 February 2014) while it was in possession of insider information, being that Leighton Holdings Limited’s 2013 financial results were likely to be at the high end of previous earnings guidance.

Hochtief AG has admitted the alleged contravention.

Read the full press release

ICO releases data privacy assessment tool for SMEs

ICO releases data privacy assessment tool for SMEs

With the number of high profile examples of big businesses being targeted by cyber criminals, it’d be easy for small and medium-sized enterprises to overlook their own vulnerabilities.

Many SMEs possess customer databases to rival those of larger businesses, but tend to lack the security infrastructure to match – making them highly valuable targets for cybercriminals.

In recognition of this problem, the ICO released a tool last week designed to help SMEs assess their compliance with the Data Protection Act.

The tool contains a number of checklists covering the essential elements of cyber security including data protection, records management and information security. If you’re a SME, we highly recommend making use of this free tool to assess your own DPA compliance efforts.

Data Privacy Training

One crucial element the ICO recommends for data protection compliance is training, an area in which SMEs can easily compete with larger organisations – and something VinciWorks can help with.

Our responsive, multi-device eLearning covers all subjects the ICO recommends SMEs deliver training in for Data Protection Act compliance.

Not only are our eLearning courses responsive and deliverable on mobiles, tablets and personal computers, they also provide a robust audit trail, an essential element of any data protection policy.

Contact us today for guest access to our information governance eLearning courses or to discuss how we can help you comply with the data protection act.