Tag: cyber attacks

Hacking Back: Australia Launches Hunt for Cyber Syndicates

The Australian government will strike back against cyber hackers with a 100-person strong task force set to debilitate hackers and ransomware syndicates around the world before crimes have been committed. The task force will be a joint effort between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), according to an announcement on Nov. 12….


Medibank Refuses To Pay Hackers Ransom

Australia’s largest health insurer Medibank has announced it will not give in to a cyber hackers ransom demands after at least 9.7 million of its customers had data, including full names, birth dates, phone numbers, medicare numbers, and addresses, accessed in a cyberattack in October. “Based on the extensive advice we have received from cybercrime…


Australian Government Accused of Leaving Country in the Lurch on Cyber Security

The federal Labor government has been accused of leaving Australians in the lurch over cybersecurity after it allegedly removed 27 cybersecurity roles from the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List. This comes as the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has said that it is receiving one report every eight minutes, compared to every seven minutes in the…


Australia to Lead Global Fight Against Ransomware

The Biden Administration has announced Australia will head the international fight against ransomware cyberattacks as part of the U.S.-led Counter Ransomware Initiative. The announcement, on Nov. 2, by the White House comes after the administration gathered 36 countries and the European Union (27 countries), for the Second International Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI) Summit October 31-November…


Organisations Should Adopt These Rules to Protect Customer Information

Commentary Numerous data breaches, which adversely affected the public image of Optus and Medibank, continue to be widely reported in the Australian media and ruefully acknowledged by the chief executive officers of these organisations. These breaches have escalated the significance of privacy and cyber security in political arenas. These data breaches have put at risk…


Shangri-La Guest Database Hacked

Shangri-La Group issued an announcement on its official website on Sept. 30, stating that its 8 hotels were found to have been hacked by professional cyber attackers, bypassing the group’s security monitoring system, and after investigation, it was found that the contact information of some guests was leaked. The group apologized to the affected customers…


Millions Affected in Massive Data Breach of Australian Telco

The private information of millions of Australians is at risk after major telecommunications firm Optus suffered a cyber attack that breached its firewall. On Sept. 22, Optus confirmed that hackers got access to the names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, and potentially the driver’s licence, passport numbers, and addresses, of millions of current…


Phone Numbers, Passport Details of Millions of Australians Lost in Massive Hack of Telco

The private information of 9.8 million Australians is at risk after major telecommunications firm Optus suffered a cyber attack that breached its firewall. On Sept. 22, Optus confirmed that hackers got access to the names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, and potentially the driver’s licence, passport numbers, and addresses, of millions of current…


Phone Numbers, Passport Details of 10 Million Australians Lost in Massive Telco Hack

The private information of 9.8 million Australians is at risk after major telecommunications firm Optus suffered a cyber attack that breached its firewall. On Sept. 22, Optus confirmed that hackers got access to the names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, and potentially the driver’s licence, passport numbers, and addresses, of millions of current…


Los Angeles Unified School District Hit With Ransomware Attack

The information technology systems of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) in California, the second largest school district in the United States, were targeted by a ransomware attack over Labor Day weekend, the school system announced Monday. Following the “external cyber attack” on IT assets, LAUSD quickly responded to minimize disruptions to its network, including…