Australia to lead global countering ransomware taskforce after White House cyber crime summit

In the wake of cyber attacks on Medibank and Optus, Australia has stepped up to lead a global effort to fight hackers. See how.

Australia will spearhead a new international taskforce to take the fight up to ransomware gangs, crack down on hackers’ illicit finance and identify emerging threats online.

Department of Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo, representing Australia at a high-level summit at the White House, promised it would be up and running by January 1 to “scale up our defence and scale up our disruption”.

“We need to get to a point where it’s not just defence and security by design, but it’s disruption by design,” he told global cyber chiefs in Washington DC.

White House officials said the summit – part of President Joe Biden’s countering ransomware initiative – also focused on developing new tools to help people whose private information was leaked online by hackers such as those caught up in the Medibank attack.

Sensitive health data of up to four million people was stolen but the Australian Federal Police warned Medibank against paying ransoms to the cyber criminals involved.

Department of Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo. Picture Kym Smith

Dozens of countries represented at the White House summit also agreed to twice-yearly cyber war games and new intelligence-sharing mechanisms to block ransomware gangs from cryptocurrency platforms and seize their funds.

Home Affairs and Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil said the Medibank attack was a “blunt reminder that we need a globally focused capability to combat cyber threats”, and that Australia wanted to be a world leader in the field.

The scale of the Optus hack shocked Australians. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

“This international taskforce will enable sustained and impressive, inspirational collaboration between international agencies to disrupt, combat and defend against the scourge of ransomware,” Ms O’Neil said.

“The ransomware threat extends across international borders, and I call on other nations to be part of this global initiative to support effective detection, disruption and prosecution of malicious cyber actors who use ransomware for financial and other gain.”

The taskforce is expected to produce regular reports on tools, tactics and procedures to combat ransomware, while also engaging with private sectors partners.

Mr Pezzullo told his counterparts that the scale and sophistication of cyber crime made it a national security challenge.

Australia will lead a new taskforce targeting ransomware gangs.

“The security of our population is indeed at risk if that population does not have secure access to healthcare, to telecommunications, to energy and to so many other essential services,” he said.

Mr Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan praised Australia’s efforts, saying ransomware was a “global challenge that requires global co-operation to produce global solutions”.

He also flagged a new multinational labelling program – similar to energy star ratings – to assure consumers they were purchasing secure internet-enabled devices.

Originally published as Australia to lead global countering ransomware taskforce after White House cyber crime summit