The ransomware group known as The Gentlemen has targeted a Hunter Region office technology specialist as its latest Australian victim.
The hackers listed Sharp Office in a September 7 leak post but shared very few details about the incident.
The only thing The Gentlemen disclosed – aside from a description of the victim’s business – is that it will publish the data within nine days.
A Sharp Office spokesperson told Cyber Daily the company is aware of the hackers’ claims.
“Sharp Office recently experienced a cyber incident affecting some parts of our systems,” the spokesperson said.
“As soon as we became aware of the incident, we engaged external cyber security experts to support our response and investigation and took immediate steps to contain the incident and secure our systems. Our business systems have since been restored and remain operational.
“We are also aware of claims made online by a malicious actor in relation to our organisation. Our investigation is ongoing, and we are working to understand the nature and extent of the incident and intend to comply with any legal obligations that arise.”
Sharp Office said it has notified the Australian Cyber Security Centre and will cooperate with its investigations.
Who is The Gentlemen?
Despite only emerging in September 2025, The Gentlemen has risen to the number two spot when it comes to victim count, behind only the Qilin RaaS operation.
Its most recent Australian victim was children’s wear retailer Ollie’s Place, which confirmed it was investigating a cyber incident in August this year.
The Gentlemen group is thought to largely comprise Russian speakers and operates under a similar model to Qilin, with the hackers currently on an affiliate recruitment drive.
“We are actively looking for skilled affiliates – teams, individual pentesters, and access brokers – to join our program and scale operations worldwide.”
Affiliates keep 90 per cent of any ransom paid.
Who is Sharp Office?
Sharp Office is based in the Newcastle suburb of Broadmeadow and supplies office technology and printing supplies to several major organisations in the region, including Newcastle Racecourse, Newcastle Airport, and the Hunter Care Group.
“Sharp Office is your trusted local partner in business,” the company says on its website.
“For over 50 years, we’ve found the best solutions for businesses across the Newcastle Region, Hunter region, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens and Mid North Coast.”
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