cyber crime – Page 2 – Cyber Law Watch

Study reveals massive cost of cybercrime for Asia Pacific businesses

Jun 01 2018

We all know that cybersecurity incidents can cost your organisation a lot of money, but exactly how much? A report by Frost and Sullivan has found that losses from cyberattacks in the Asia Pacific region (APAC) could reach a staggering US$1.75 trillion, nearly 7 per cent of the region’s gross domestic product in 2017. As covered in our blog last week, the cost of cyber scams alone in Australia totalled $340 million AUD last year.

Russian-backed hacking targets Australian businesses

Apr 17 2018

By Cameron Abbott, Allison Wallace and Sarah Goegan

Russian hackers are accused of penetrating up to 400 Australian businesses in 2017 as part of an alleged state-sponsored cyber-espionage campaign, targeting millions of computers across the world.

The Australian government made the announcement in light of an extraordinary joint statement from the US and UK governments pointing a stern finger at Russia for sponsoring cyber-attacks on government, private organisations, critical infrastructure providers and internet services providers.

A New Type of Cyberattack: AI-Powered Cyberattacks

Nov 17 2017

By Cameron Abbott and Harry Crawford

Researchers are warning that AI threatens to increase the sophistication and effectiveness of cyberattacks, according to a recent blog post by the Wall Street Journal.

Impact of Cyberattack on Merck was $135 million

Nov 03 2017

By Cameron Abbott and Olivia Coburn

Drug and vaccine manufacturer Merck & Co Inc has quantified the impact of a cyberattack on its revenue at US$135 million. The company disclosed the figure in its third quarter earnings report.

The cyberattack occurred in June and forced Merck to halt production of its drugs.

Update everything: Discovery of Wi-Fi flaw in connected devices

Oct 19 2017

By Cameron Abbott, Rob Pulham and Olivia Coburn

A Belgian researcher has discovered a weakness in WPA-2, the security protocol used in the majority of routers and devices including computers, mobile phones and connected household appliances, to secure internet and wireless network connections.

The researcher, Mathy Vanhoef, has named the flaw KRACK, for Key Reinstallation Attack.

Any device that supports Wi-Fi is likely to be affected by KRACK, albeit devices will have different levels of vulnerability depending on their operating systems. Linux and Android are believed to be more susceptible than Windows and iOS, and devices running Android 6.0 are reportedly particularly vulnerable.

Just one of 734: Australian defence contractor hacked

Oct 16 2017

By Cameron Abbott and Olivia Coburn

A hacker has breached the computer system of an unnamed defence contractor and stolen 30 gigabytes of data, including information on Australia’s $17 billion Joint Strike Fighter program.

The data breach, which the Australian Government publicly disclosed last week, also includes information about Australia’s $4 billion P-8 surveillance plane project, Collins Class submarines and the warships HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide. The Government has emphasised that the stolen data is commercially sensitive but not classified.

The announcement coincides with the release of the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s 2017 Threat Report, available here, which reveals that the hack is among 734 cyber incidents affecting private sector systems of national interest and critical infrastructure providers.

Deloitte hack: Big four cyber-security advisor takes a hit

Sep 28 2017

By Cameron Abbott and Olivia Coburn

“Big four” accounting and consulting firm Deloitte revealed on Monday that it was targeted by a hack that exposed its email system and client records.

Although Deloitte has not yet provided details on the full extent of the breach, it confirmed that the information accessed includes confidential emails and plans of some of its blue-chip clients. It also said that “very few” clients were affected.

Equifax data breach: 143 million records exposed but senior executives not told immediately?

Sep 12 2017

By Cameron Abbott and Olivia Coburn

Equifax has joined Yahoo on the podium for the award no one wants: suffering one of the largest data breaches in history.

Equifax, one of the three largest US credit reporting agencies, announced last week that it suffered a cybersecurity incident potentially impacting 143 million US consumers – a figure comprising of roughly 55 per cent of Americans aged 18 years or older. Some UK and Canadian residents are also affected.

Security incidents high, confidence to manage them low. Really? We did see this coming – why aren’t we better prepared?

Aug 31 2017

By Cameron Abbott and Olivia Coburn

RiskIQ, a US-based cyber security company, has reported that 40% of businesses surveyed in the US and the UK have experienced 5 or more significant security incidents in the past 12 months. Significant incidents include malware, targeted attacks, mobile exposures, rogue mobile apps, website or brand abuse, phishing and social impersonation.

RiskIQ, through IDG Connect, also surveyed the confidence of corporate decision-makers in their ability to handle and mitigate cyber threats. Their report, 2017 State of Enterprise Digital Defense Report, reveals that nearly two-thirds of respondents had no to modest confidence in their ability to manage digital threats.

Gartner: Worldwide spending on information security to reach $93 billion in 2018

Aug 24 2017

By Cameron Abbott and Olivia Coburn

Global spending on information security products and services will reach $86.4 billion this year, according to US-based technology research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc.

This figure is an increase of 7 per cent over 2016, and is expected to grow to $93 billion in 2018.

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