The Australian government will consider banning the possibility of prohibiting ransom payments to cyber criminals following several accidents that impacted companies and people across the country over the past two months, APA reports citing Teletrader.
At least ten big Australian businesses have been hit by cyber hackers since September, including the biggest national health insurer Medibank Private Limited and the second-largest wireless carrier Singtel Optus Pty Limited.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil announced the initiative on Sunday after formalizing a new collaboration between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Signals Directorate to tackle increasing cyber crimes. A team of about 100 officers will work together to "hunt down criminals" responsible for the latest events, the minister explained.
The decision comes after the personal data of around 10 million Medibank customers was compromised in the cyberattack against the insurer, with Russia-based ransomware group REvil suspected of being behind the attack.
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