Australia Declares War on Cybercrime Syndicates

Australian authorities have announced a new offensive against cybercrime, standing up a a joint operation between the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Signals Directorate to disrupt cybercriminal operations. 

The move comes after two headline-making breaches against Australian companies Optus and Medibank. The task force will collect information about cyber threats and identify targets with the potential to inflict harm on Australian national interests, according to the announcement about the new offensive cybercrime strategy. 

“This operation will collect intelligence and identify ring-leaders, networks and infrastructure in order to disrupt and stop their operations — regardless of where they are,” a statement from the Australian Attorney General explained about the new ransomware task force. “It sends an important message to criminals and hackers intending to do harm — Australia will fight back.”