Cyber security: ACSC reveals the crime organisations making us vulnerable

We often hear of companies whose data is held hostage by unknown, invisible hackers. So who are the top criminal organisations that Australian security agencies have in their sights?

Cybercrime is up and firewalls are down as foreign and domestic hackers silently invade our smart devices to steal personal information every ten minutes.

The latest statistics by Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) expose the true vulnerability of the Australian economy as it grapples with the dramatic rise in cybercrime activity.

Between July 2019 and June 2020 approximately 60,000 cyber-attacks were reported in Australia, which is an average of 164 per day or one every ten minutes.

Approximately 60,000 cyber-attacks were reported in Australia between July 2019 and June 2020.

“Cybercrime is going up dramatically [and] ransomware figures are off the charts because we’re susceptible as a rich economy and we pay it,” cybercrime Professor Nigel Phair from the University of NSW said.

“What makes us vulnerable is when organisations and individuals don’t properly understand risks online. If organisations, particularly small to medium businesses, did things to protect themselves then we wouldn’t be at such risk.

“Bigger businesses have the strength to employ their own security staff or a consultancy firm [but] smaller to medium businesses don’t and they employ the bulk of the people.”

Knowing exactly who is behind these crimes is not always straightforward.

A new study by Flinders University has now found that the cost of these crimes is expected to exceed $3.5 billion as almost 2.8 million Australians report experiencing disruption to network systems within the last year.

Ransomware remains the highest threat to Australian companies but knowing exactly who is behind these crimes is not always so straightforward.

Here is a list of known cybercriminal organisations who are in the sights of Australian security agencies.

THE TAKE-HOME MESSAGE

Organised cybercrime networks are intricate, stealthy and difficult to identify due to their tendency to mutate and avoid detection.

Some cybercriminals operate independently for the sake of financial gain, while others act on behalf of nation-states to steal intellectual property to benefit positions of power.

Professor Phair said education is key for people to understand the value of their data and businesses should take simple steps, such as upgrading software or using multifactorial authentication for staff, to ensure they can protect themselves against hackers.

“The data that you put online on Facebook, Instagram and other social media accounts get replayed by marketing departments and advertising [and] cyber criminals are interested in that personal identity information because they can use it for various attacks,” he said.

“Cybercrime is underreported. The true quantity is much bigger, and we need to be more sensible.”