Ransomware hackers hit Australian defence communications platform

Authorities said on Monday that hackers have attacked a communications network used by Australian military troops and defense professionals with a ransomware assault as the nation fights a recent surge in cyberattacks against companies.

According to Assistant Minister of Defence Matt Thistlethwaite, the ForceNet service, one of the outside companies the defense department hires to manage one of its websites, has come under assault. However, no data have been exposed as of yet.

Thistlethwaite told ABC Radio, "I want to emphasize that this isn't an assault or a breach of defense (technology) systems and companies. "At this time, there is no proof that the data set, which is the data that this corporation handles on behalf of defense, has been compromised."

But the Australian Broadcasting Corp stated, citing an unnamed source familiar with the probe, that certain personal information, including dates of birth and enrollment information of military members, may have been taken.

Thistlethwaite said that the event would be taken "extremely seriously" by the government and that all military personnel have been informed, along with recommendations to think about changing their passwords.

In an email comment to Reuters, a representative for the Department of Defence said that the organization was investigating the contents of the affected data collection and the nature of the personal data it included.

Hackers generally offer the victim a key in exchange for cryptocurrency payments that may amount to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars when using ransomware to lock the data of its victims.

Data breaches have recently occurred at some of Australia's largest businesses, including the No. 2 telecommunications company Optus, which is owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, and the largest health insurer in the nation, Medibank Private Ltd. These breaches likely exposed the personal information of millions of customers.

The nation has reportedly become a target for cyberattacks just as a skills gap renders an overworked, underfunded cybersecurity personnel unable to counter it.