EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — Australia has suffered enormous back-to-back cyberattacks in recent months. The first major attack hit Optus, Australia’s second-largest telecommunications company, in September. The breach compromised the personal and medical data of 10 million customers. Weeks later, another attack hit Australia’s biggest health-insurer Medibank Private Ltd, leaking the data of 9.7 million of the company’s past and present customers.
The Optus and Medibank hacks compromised the data of a total of 14 million customer accounts. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said they believe those responsible for the breach are in Russia but has yet to formally identify them. Cybersecurity experts say that the hackers may be linked to the Russian-backed REvil ransomware gang.
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62
Access all of The Cipher Brief‘s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+Member.
