Another Australian company has fallen victim to a high-profile cyber security attack, with Internet services provider TPG Telecom Ltd revealing that its internal emails had been unlawfully accessed. 

The hack was announced last Wednesday, with TPG’s shares falling to 2.8% from the news of up to 15,000 of its corporate customers have been hacked. 

Over eight Australian companies have gone public about their cyber security attacks since October, prompting public outrage. 

The surge of cyber attacks has led the federal government to develop a new cybersecurity strategy to tackle threats, and consider banning the payment of ransom to cyber criminals. 

TPG Telecom, Australia’s No. 2 internet service provider with 7.2 million accounts, said the primary aim of the hack of the hosted exchange service was to search for customers’ cryptocurrency and financial information.  

The company’s cybersecurity adviser Mandiant discovered the breach during a forensic historical review. 

TPG Telecom said it has implemented measures to stop the unauthorised access and was contacting all customers on the exchange service affected by the incident. 

The attack on TPG “does show to the world and to Australia that it is still quite easy for hackers to access customer records, which is obviously a huge negative and a lot of the other companies should definitely be wary,” said

Azeem Sherrif, a market analyst at CMC Markets, states that the attack on TPG Telecom leaves a chilling precedent.

“[The attack shows] to the world and to Australia that it is still quite easy for hackers to access customer records, which is obviously a huge negative and a lot of the other companies should definitely be wary,” he said.

A report from the Australian Cyber Security Centre blamed inadequate software updates for the majority of the latest major cyber attacks across Australia. 

Meanwhile, tech experts are warning that Australian companies have become a target for copycat attacks as the current skills shortage leaves companies understaffed and ill-equipped to stop the attacks. 

Australia ranked equal-first in the world for companies reporting that their biggest cybersecurity challenge was finding people with the necessary skills, said Michael Mestrovich, chief information security officer at cybersecurity firm Rubrik. 

“This lack of skilled cybersecurity talent has real-world impacts,” he said. 

Source: Reuters. Content has been edited for style and length. 

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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