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‘We are going to be under relentless cyber attack’, cyber security minister warns
Amy Remeikis
Cyber security minister Clare O’Neil has spoken to ABC radio AM this morning about the latest cyber attack on Australia’s data, this time, Medibank.
O’Neil said there was not a lot she could say about the on-going investigation but said she understood that people were understandably worried about potentially having their health information in the hands of people who were threatening to release it.
But she also doesn’t think it will be the last ransomware attack of this nature.
O’Neil said this was the “new world we live in” and that we were “going to be under relentless cyber attack, essentially from here on in” and the organisations which held that data were going to have to do better to protect it.
The very best people in the country are working with Medibank to try to prevent any harm from occurring from what has gone on here.
But I’d also just say to Australians and this this applies to government to business to individuals. There is an element here that cybercrime is growing really quickly around the world.
There was an Interpol conference that yesterday the kind of police heads of forces from around the world got together and their message to the community was that cybercrime is now their main crime concern internationally.
And this is the new world that we live in. We are going to be under relentless cyber attack, essentially from here on in. And what it means is that we need to do a lot better as a country to make sure that we are doing everything we can within organisations to protect customer data, and also for citizens to be doing everything that they can.
O’Neil also flagged new laws in this space:
So I think combined with Optus, this is a huge wake up call for the country. And certainly gives the government a really clear mandate to do some things that frankly, probably should have been done five years ago, but I think are still very crucially important.
Good morning!
Communities in NSW and Victoria continue to brace for severe weather. In the Victorian towns of Echuca and Moama, a nervous wait continues for further flooding as the Murray River is expected to peak late Friday, coinciding with more rain.
Widespread rain and thunderstorms are expected in NSW, where ongoing floods continue with major flood warnings still in place on multiple rivers.
The bureau of meteorology last night warned of severe thunderstorms to bring intense rain, damaging winds and large hail to northwest NSW.
As more rain is predicted, my colleagues Caitlin Cassidy and Mike Bowers have been visiting flood affected communities in Victoria. Those in Rochester say community spirit is heartening but ‘only goes so far’.
Meanwhile, health insurer Medibank has entered a trading halt after a purported cyber attack. In a statement to the Australian stock exchange on Wednesday, the company said it had received messages from a group that wished to negotiate regarding the alleged removal of customer data.
The minister for home affairs and cyber security, Clare O’Neil, told ABC’s AM that the “facts are still being established” but the situation is of “great concern” to the government.
What has changed in the last 24 hours is that malicious actors have contacted the organisation claiming to have customer data. And that is why the situation has become of great concern and there are various arms of the Australian government which are working very hard to support Medibank to try to prevent any customer data from being released.
This hack of Medicare of course comes only weeks after Optus’ major breach. O’Neil flagged that she believed cyber attacks would continue, as:
This is the new world that we live in. We are going to be under relentless cyber attack essentially from here on in.
She also said these attacks “certainly gives the government a really clear mandate” for further action.
Let’s kick off!
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