Insight on how cyber risk is being mitigated and managed across the globe.
By Cameron Abbott, Rob Pulham and Jacqueline Patishman
In April, New York’s subway authority was hacked by a group of cybercriminals with suspected Chinese government connections. The authority is responsible for operating all of New York’s train and bus systems and the attack exposed vulnerabilities in the services used by millions every day.
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By Cameron Abbott and Jacqueline Patishman
Last week we posted about a ransomware attack on the American Colonial Pipeline Company. This week, the Company has been hit with a class action alleging that a range of US businesses and consumers suffered loss as a result of Colonial Pipeline’s decision to cut its supply of fuel until the ransomware attack was resolved. Meanwhile, the Company is still not entirely back on track – Colonial’s main website is still offline.
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By Cameron Abbott, Warwick Andersen, Rob Pulham and Jacqueline Patishman
On 7 May, the American Colonial Pipeline Company (Colonial Pipeline) network, which operates the largest fuel pipeline in the US, was shut-down by a cyber-attack for several days causing fuel shortages, the highest fuel prices in years and the declaration of a state of emergency in four US states.
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By Cameron Abbott, Rob Pulham and Jacqueline Patishman
In mid-May, the Russian government (quietly) published a report revealing that foreign hackers had successfully compromised the Russian Government’s cyber systems. The report suggests that sophisticated hackers were pursuing the interests of a foreign state or that they were backed by a particular state but makes no statement as to who may have been behind it.
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By Cameron Abbott and Jacqueline Patishman
The recently released Victorian budget shows that more than $300 million of the 2021-2022 state budget is to be used to improve the government’s ability to prevent, detect and control cyber risks. Well sort of… it also includes a range of more vanilla possible projects such as case administration systems at AAT, upgrading radio communication for Forest Fire Management Fire Victoria staff – so perhaps it is not as large a cybersecurity spend as it first looks.
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By Cameron Abbott, Michelle Aggromito, Jacqueline Patishman and Emily Gamaroff
In a bid to maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific region, Australia has pledged $37.5 million to bolster the security and development of critical technology in neighboring countries as part of its updated International Cyber Engagement Strategy. The funding aims to promote the resilience of critical technologies in Southeast Asia and to support Australia’s Pacific neighbours by improving online safety, counter misinformation and to fight cybercrime.
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By Cameron Abbott, Warwick Andersen, Rob Pulham and Max Evans
Channel Nine has suffered the largest cyber attack on a media company in Australia’s history, according to reports from IT News, the AFR and Nine News.
The cyber attack, reported by Channel Nine as a variation of a ransomware attack, struck early Sunday morning, resulting in television and digital production systems being offline for more than 24 hours. The attack impaired Channel Nine’s ability to broadcast from its Sydney studios, forcing the media outlet to shift operations to its Melbourne studios.
Read MoreBy Cameron Abbott, Michelle Aggromito and Jacqueline Patishman
After severe criticism from the Australian government and others, Facebook has reversed its initial response to the controversial news media code of banning all Australian news on its platform, now stating that news and key pages concerning public health and government will be restored (although it has not provided a deadline for when this will occur).
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By Cameron Abbott, Rob Pulham and Jacqueline Patishman
News reports have surfaced reporting that a hacker in the US gained access to the Oldsmar’s water treatment plant system in an attempt to release a corrosive chemical into the Oldsmar’s water supply.
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By Cameron Abbott, Warwick Andersen, Michelle Aggromito and Max Evans
As a result of a recent class action, the Department of Home Affairs has been ordered by the Australian Information Commissioner, Angelene Falk, to pay compensation to asylum seekers after the Department was found to have interfered with the privacy of 9,251 detainees.
According to a media release from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) , the relevant breach stemmed from February 2014, where the Department published on its website a “Detention Report”, which had embedded within it a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet containing the personal information (including full names, date of birth and period of immigration detention) of 9,258 individuals who were in immigration detention at that time.
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