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The Australian Government has announced a new team of cybersecurity experts who will be tasked with hunting down hackers in the wake of the Medibank cyber attack.
The team said to be the “smartest and toughest” in Australia, will overhaul the nation’s law enforcement methods and prevent future attacks. A new partnership between the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Signals Directorate has been announced by the federal government for this task,
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said, “The criminals we are up against have adapted their ways, and so have we.”
“This is the formalisation of a partnership, a standing body within the Australian government which will take the day in, day out, hunt down the scumbags responsible for these malicious crimes against innocent people.”
The announcement comes after a series of high-profile cyber attacks in recent months, including the Medibank hack and the WannaCry ransomware attack.
The Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, has announced that the Government will soon introduce new legislation that will increase the maximum penalties for companies subject to severe data breaches. The new bill, currently before the Senate, will increase the maximum penalties from two to five years of imprisonment.
“The AFP will be working with all international partners, including Interpol, and calling on all countries to assist in eliminating this type of cybercrime,” said Dreyfus.
“No country should stand by and not assist any other country asking for help.”
Minister Dreyfus’ comments come after the AFP identified the Medibank cyber criminals as coming from Russia.
The Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, was asked if the government was considering expelling Russian diplomats.
“We are always looking at what further action we can take,” said Dreyfus.
“This is a grave matter. We’ve already taken serious action by expelling two Russian intelligence officers from Australia.”
“We will continue working with our international partners to ensure we can take the strongest possible action against those responsible for these criminal acts.”
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