Australia demands Russia crack down on cyber criminals
One of听础耻蝉迟谤补濒颈补‘s top government bureaucrats on Wednesday demanded听搁耻蝉蝉颈补听肠谤补肠办听诲辞飞苍听on the large number of听肠测产别谤听肠谤颈尘颈苍补濒蝉听operating in the country, saying their actions posed a threat to national security.
The comments come as Canberra reforms its听肠测产别谤security policy following a raft of听肠测产别谤听attacks on some of the country’s largest companies.
“The greatest density of听肠测产别谤听criminals, particularly those with ransomware, are in听搁耻蝉蝉颈补,” Michael Pezzullo, Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, told the AFR Business Summit in Sydney.
“They are not a rule of law country and the thought that you can apply conventional law enforcement disciplines … is completely naive.
“We call on the听搁耻蝉蝉颈补n government to bring those hackers to heel.”
A spokesperson for the听搁耻蝉蝉颈补n embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The听础耻蝉迟谤补濒颈补n government last month said it planned to overhaul its听肠测产别谤security rules as well as set up an agency in Mr. Pezzullo’s department to coordinate government investment in the field and help coordinate responses to hacker attacks.
The move follows a rise in听肠测产别谤听attacks since late last year with breaches reported by at least eight companies, including health insurer Medibank Private Ltd. and telco Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.
An attack on critical technology infrastructure was one of the greatest threats to听础耻蝉迟谤补濒颈补n national security, Mr. Pezzullo said.
“A听肠测产别谤听attack could actually come unattributed…it could be a criminal act or it could be a proxy actor working with or on behalf of a state, or it could be a state,” he said.
“The blurring and the ambiguity that it generates is a challenge just for policy, let alone regulation.”
The United States and Britain聽听蝉别惫别谤补濒听搁耻蝉蝉颈补ns accused of听肠测产别谤听attacks last month, saying ransomware attacks have paralyzed businesses, schools and hospitals. – Reuters
