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.
The group aims to collect intelligence and identify ring-leaders, networks, and infrastructure to disrupt and stop cyber-criminal syndicates.
“The recent Optus and Medibank data breaches have shown the extent of the damage that can be done by malicious actors. This new joint campaign will ensure the full powers of the AFP and ASD are brought to bear to stop such incidents before they start,” said Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil in a joint media release along with Defence Minister Richard Marles, and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus….