Top Australia Defence Firm Reports Serious Cyber Breach

From securityweek.com

A top Australian defence firm with major US Navy contracts has admitted its personnel files were breached and that it was the subject of an extortion attempt.

Austral — which among other things makes small, quick ships for warfare close to shore — said its “data management system” had been infiltrated by an “unknown offender”.

In a statement, the company claimed that there was “no evidence to date” that “information affecting national security nor the commercial operations of the company have been stolen”.

However it said staff email addresses and mobile phone numbers were accessed and the offender purported to offer materials for sale on the internet and “engage in extortion”.

“The company has not and will not respond to extortion attempts.”

Read more…