Tag: Tim Watts

Agencies ‘hunting every night’ with offensive cyber capabilities

Posted on   |  by Denham Sadler
Australia’s spy agency is “going hunting” for ransomware gangs “every night”, according to Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo, who has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to an offensive cyber capability....

New regime: Mandatory reporting of ransomware incidents

Posted on   |  by Joseph Brookes
The federal government will introduce tougher penalties for ransomware criminals and a mandatory incident reporting scheme for large businesses that suffer an attack under a new ransomware action plan...

‘The most serious cybercrime threat’ in Australia

Posted on   |  by Joseph Brookes
Ransomware is the biggest cyber threat facing businesses today, the national cyber agency has warned, as new statistics show the digital extortion method is now reported more than once...

Liberal senator calls for government cybersecurity summit

Posted on   |  by Denham Sadler
Liberal senator and defence committee chair Eric Abetz has called on his government to hold a national cybersecurity summit in response to the growing threat cyberattacks pose to individuals...

‘Extraordinary’ hacking powers pass Parliament

Posted on   |  by Denham Sadler
Legislation handing “extraordinary” new hacking powers to Australian authorities has sailed through Parliament with support from the Opposition, despite the government not implementing some of the recommendations from the...

The role of social media in COVID protests

Posted on   |  by Denham Sadler
The federal government must require greater transparency from the social media giants about COVID-19 misinformation following the large-scale anti-lockdown protests in Sydney and Melbourne at the weekend, shadow assistant...

Govt establishes ransomware taskforce

Posted on   |  by Denham Sadler
The federal government has ordered its intelligence forces to go on the offensive against ransomware gangs, with a new cross-agency taskforce established and a near-tripling of the AFP officers...

ASPI ‘soft target’ warning on ransomware

Posted on   |  by Joseph Brookes
Ransomware attacks will only get worse for Australia without strategic domestic efforts to thwart it, according to a new report which warns a “policy vacuum” has made the nation...