New data has revealed that Australians are facing an alarming surge in fraudulent credit card purchases and withdrawals. A cyberattack on a national law firm has identified the Australian Federal Police (AFP) as one of the affected government agencies.

HWL Ebsworth experienced a significant cyber breach in April of this year, resulting in the theft of data from various government departments. The AFP, a client of HWL, is one of the agencies involved in the breach, with affected members already reaching out to the Australian Federal Police Association (AFPA).

AFPA President Alex Caruana expressed awareness of the matter and shared concerns regarding the potential impact of this data breach on members. Caruana claims that the breach exposed members’ shared information on the dark web. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is currently conducting an investigation into the matter.

“We will continue to support our members and would encourage all members who have been affected to contact the AFPA if they need support,” she said.

“We continue to support the work of the federal government in the cyber security environment with the recent appointment of a National Cyber Security Coordinator and the excellent work undertaken by the Australian Cyber Security Centre in educating and supporting Australians affected by cyber attacks.”

According to 9 News, the AFPA revealed that the information in question consisted of officers’ identities and email addresses. A notorious Russian hacking group allegedly orchestrated a significant cyber attack against HWL Ebsworth, a prominent commercial law firm in Australia.

In late April, a law firm fell victim to a cyberattack by Russian cybercriminals who go by the names AlphV or BlackCat. These hackers recently made the bold claim of posting over 1 terabyte of stolen data on the dark web.

Editors Publicspectrum

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