Latitude Financial rejects ransom payment

Major Australian financial services firm Latitude Financial has emphasized its refusal to pay any ransom demanded in relation to a massive cyberattack last month, which resulted in the theft of nearly 14 million customer records, reports The Guardian. Such a rejection is in line with the policies of the Australian government, noted Latitude Financial CEO Bob Belan. "Based on the evidence and advice, there is simply no guarantee that doing so would result in any customer data being destroyed and it would only encourage further extortion attempts on Australian and New Zealand businesses in the future," Belan said. The attack on Latitude Financial, which comes after major hacks at other Australian entities Optus and Medibank, has prompted a reexamination of companies' data storage policies. "People are now at constant risk of identity fraud and worse because organizations collect too much information, keep it too long, and store it insecurely," said Electronic Frontiers Australia Chair Justin Warren.