Ransomware attack compromises Australian state’s court system

Court Services Victoria, the court system of Australian state Victoria, had a portion of its audio-visual archive compromised in a ransomware attack, which resulted in the theft of criminal and civil hearing recordings from Nov. 1 to Dec. 21, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports. Attackers may have also exfiltrated recordings from the Court of Appeal, Practice Court, and the Criminal Division, as well as certain Magistrates Court committal hearings, although Children's Court hearings were reportedly spared. Operations at Victoria's courts have also not been impacted by the intrusion, according to Acting Premier Ben Carroll. Investigation into the incident is still underway but Victoria's court system has been suspected by cybersecurity expert Robert Potter to have been impacted by a Qilin ransomware attack. Such an incident follows recent high-profile cyberattacks across Australia, including intrusions against leading non-profit health provider St. Vincent's Health and probiotic milk drink manufacturer Yakult Australia. "Australia is a rich target because we are a modern, first-world country with a bunch of money. Inevitably, there are security deficiencies that have allowed this to happen," said cybersecurity expert Troy Hunt.