Why it matters that Australia unmasked the Medibank hacker
The government has shown it can track down the faceless crooks who hold businesses to ransom, while cleverly pressuring businesses not to pay out.
It may seem insignificant to name and sanction a single Russian man as the face of an appalling cyberattack against millions of Australian citizens. But Tuesday’s unmasking of Aleksandr Ermakov as the ringleader of the theft and publication of a huge cache of sensitive medical information looks like a strong and significant step towards demystifying and disrupting cybercrime.
Images frequently used in news articles about cybercriminals tend to depict mysteriously hooded, threatening-looking villains, whereas we have now been shown the reality: a bog-standard, friendly looking office IT or start-up worker, whose criminal life operates like a regular business.
Subscribe to gift this article
Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.
Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?
Introducing your Newsfeed
Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.
Find out moreRead More
Latest In Technology
Fetching latest articles