Cyber attack on northern NSW company Aeeris sees fake emergency alerts sent through Early Warning Network

A cyber attack on a listed Coast company saw fake emergency alerts sent to customers in a move the CEO says was “deliberate and malicious”.

A real image of Cyclone Penny off the East Coast of Australia. Fake alerts were sent to an unknown number of people over the weekend.

A CYBER attack on a listed Coast company saw fake emergency alerts sent to an unknown number of people over the weekend.

Chinderah-based Aeeris said it had engaged an external cyber security firm to review the breach, which it detected quickly and involved the use of compromised credentials.

Scores of local councils, government bodies and insurers across Australia subscribe to Aeeris’s Early Warning Network, which issues emergency alerts via SMS, email, on Facebook, Twitter, the web and other platforms to warn residents of incoming natural disasters or other potential dangers.

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Kerry Plowright, chief executive officer, Aeeris

CEO Kerry Plowright said the attack was an unsophisticated breach, likely by an individual, not the work of professional hackers.

“This was a malicious attack,” he said.

“We believe it was somebody that was deliberately trying to hurt the business.

“I find it difficult to understand someone who can be that malicious and nasty and potentially hurt a lot of people.”

The company has alerted the Queensland Police cybercrime unit and the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network.

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Mr Plowright declined to detail how many false alerts were sent, or to which customers, as an investigation is ongoing.

He said the company discovered and addressed the breach early and never lost the capability to send genuine emergency alerts if required.

“Our customers have been fantastic and very supportive,” Mr Plowright said.

Aeeris listed on the ASX on April 1, 2015 after raising $3.5 million through an initial public offering at 25¢ a share.

It has struggled in recent year but has cut costs and increased revenue and turned a slim profit last financial year.

Its alerting services now cover New Zealand, a move announced in March last year.

The company has a contract with a large insurer in New Zealand.