‘Highly sensitive’ Andrews govt docs hit dark web

The Victorian government has confirmed “highly sensitive” documents are being offered for sale on the dark web after a major law firm’s systems were hacked.

The Victorian Government was a client of HWL Ebsworth, which lost millions of documents when it was hacked in April. Picture: iStock

“Highly sensitive” government documents have been released to the dark web following a major cyber breach earlier this year.

Law firm HWL Ebsworth confirmed on Friday a number of files relating to its work with the Victorian government had been uploaded to the dark web by cyber criminals.

The affected information includes “highly sensitive documents from legal files with state government departments and agencies”.

HWL Ebsworth was the target of a major cyber attack in April.

It is working with impacted departments to determine the specific information which has been exposed.

A Victorian government spokesman confirmed there had been “no direct breach of Victorian government IT systems” and it was working with HWL Ebsworth “to understand the extent of the compromise”.

“We know this could be a distressing situation for the people affected and we are working to notify all those affected as soon as possible,” he said.

“Supporting impacted Victorians and their wellbeing remains a top priority.”

HWL Ebsworth has partnered with national identity and cyber support community service IDCARE to offer free support to any individuals affected by this incident.