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The Australian government expressed its concern over reports of global malicious cyber intrusions, as detailed in Tuesday’s unsealing of indictments by the US Department of Justice.
The indictments note that these actors compromised networks across the world for commercial and personal gain.
The actors targeted a range of industries, including manufacturing, medical device engineering, software, solar energy, pharmaceuticals and defence. The individuals also reportedly targeted COVID-19 research is of particular concern, as well as political dissidents, religious minorities and human rights advocates.
The Australian government encourages all its citizens and organisations to remain vigilant about cyber security threats and reiterates the call to all countries to refrain from behaviour that violates international commitments.
In September 2019, Australia, the US and The Netherlands launched the Joint Statement on Advancing Responsible State Behaviour in Cyberspace, which makes clear the importance of holding to account those countries that engage in malicious cyber activity. To date, 28 countries have signed up to this statement.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) is working closely with organisations across Australia to help build their resilience to cyber compromises and is engaging with victims of malicious cyber incidents to offer cyber security advice and assistance.
The Australian government welcomed actions designed to hold malicious cyber actors to account and has announced it is investing $1.35 billion to further enhance Australia’s cyber security capabilities, with the 2020 Cyber Security Strategy will be delivered in coming months.
The ACSC’s cyber security advice is available at cyber.gov.au
[Related: IoT devices a major source of security compromise new study has found]
Nastasha is a Journalist at Momentum Media, she reports extensively across veterans affairs, cyber security and geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific. She is a co-author of a book titled The Stories Women Journalists Tell, published by Penguin Random House. Previously, she was a Content Producer at Verizon Media, a Digital Producer for Yahoo! and Channel 7, a Digital Journalist at Sky News Australia, as well as a Website Manager and Digital Producer at SBS Australia. Nastasha started her career in media as a Video Producer and Digital News Presenter at News Corp Australia.