TPG Telecom Ltd, an internet services provider, was the most recent Australian company to be attacked in a high-profile cyberattack, which resulted in the accessing of up to 15,000 of its corporate clients’ emails.
Its shares decreased after the news, closing down 2.8%.
Since October, at least eight additional Australian businesses have disclosed hacks. This has outraged the public and led the government to announce last week that it is creating a new cybersecurity strategy to combat threats. Additionally, it is thinking about outlawing the payment of ransom to online criminals.
According to TPG, Australia’s No. 2 internet service provider with 7.2 million accounts, the search for client cryptocurrencies and bank data was the main goal of the attack of the hosted exchange service. During a forensic historical review, Mandiant, its cybersecurity advisor, found the breach.
TPG does not break out corporate account figures, but its 2021 annual report states that around 29 percent of its pre-tax profit originates from corporate clients.
The company informed all clients on the exchange service impacted by the incident that it had taken steps to prevent unauthorized access and was in contact with them.
Moreover, a data breach affecting up to 10 million customers was also reported by the telecom company Optus, which is owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. Meanwhile, the health insurer Medibank Private Ltd. reported that personal and important amounts of health claims data belonging to roughly 9.7 million current and former customers had been compromised.
The majority of major cyberattacks, according to a report from the Australian Cyber Security Centre in November, were caused by outdated software.
Technology experts have issued a warning that the hacks on major businesses have made Australian companies a target for copycat assaults at the same time that a skills deficit leaves them understaffed and unprepared to fight it.
For Azeem Sherrif, a market analyst at CMC Markets, the attack on TPG does show to the world and to Australia how simple it still is for hackers to obtain client details, which is obviously a significant drawback, and many other businesses should definitely be on the alert.
Australia placed equal-first in the world for companies reporting that hiring employees with the right skills was their largest cybersecurity concern, said Michael Mestrovich, chief information security officer at cybersecurity firm Rubrik.
“This lack of skilled cybersecurity talent has real world impacts,” said Mestrovich.
[Source: CRN News]
