Cybercrime detectives have charged a 38-year-old man over a major data breach of the NSW courts’ website involving the leaking of almost 9000 sensitive court documents, including apprehended violence orders.
Police broke down the door of a Maroubra home in a dawn raid at 6.30am on Wednesday, executing a search warrant and seizing two laptops before arresting the man.
A 38-year-old man was charged over the alleged court document breach after a raid of a Maroubra home.Credit: NSW Police
The man was taken to Maroubra police station, where he was charged with accessing/modifying restricted data held in computers as well as another charge relating to an outstanding warrant for using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend and stalk or intimidate, intending to cause fear of physical harm.
The breach, which was discovered in March and referred to the State Crime Command’s Cybercrime Squad, affected the NSW Online Registry website which provides access to information from both civil and criminal cases.
Apprehended violence orders and affidavits were included in the breach, and police said the leaked documents may include information about child victims.
Strike Force Amherst was established to investigate the data breach and found the hack took place via a registered user’s account between January 29 and March 20 this year. When the department cybersecurity staff suspended the account, the suspicious activity stopped immediately.
Two laptops were seized during the early morning raid.Credit: NSW Police
The man was refused bail and will appear in Waverley Local Court on Thursday.
In a statement, acting NSW Attorney-General Ron Hoenig said he had been assured by the Department of Community and Justice that “the matter is contained and the system is stable”.
“At this stage, no information has been detected on the internet or the dark web,” Hoenig said.
“To date, no people protected by AVOs or ADVOs have been identified as being at increased risk of harm due to the data breach.”
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley welcomed the charges, thanking the detectives for the “tireless work investigating this matter”.
Speaking to the Herald in March, Samantha Lee, supervising solicitor at Redfern Legal Centre, said the leak of the documents was a “drastic concern” when it came to the safety of protected persons.
“People certainly are apprehensive to give statements in terms of AVO proceedings and would be absolutely distraught to find out that information may have become public,” she said.
Such documents could include the names and addresses of victims and offenders and, potentially detailed accounts of alleged offending, Lee said.
“There’s so much private personal safety information put onto the court registry. There needs to be absolute certainty to guarantee privacy ... otherwise the trust in that system will quickly erode.”
With Jessica McSweeney
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