Victoria's court system has been hit by a ransomware attack, which an independent expert believes was orchestrated by Russian hackers.
A spokesperson for Court Services Victoria said hackers accessed an area of the court system's audio-visual archive.
That would mean recordings of hearings including witness testimony from highly sensitive cases may have been accessed or stolen.
CSV is now trying to notify people whose court appearances have been accessed by hackers, and will today set up a contact centre for people who believe they may have been affected.
The recordings were from hearings between November 1 and December 21, but it's possible some hearings before November have also been affected.
Independent cyber security expert Robert Potter, who has seen evidence of the attack, said the court system had almost certainly been hit by a Russian phishing attack, using commercial ransomware known as Qilin.
This week, the ABC revealed probiotic company Yakult Australia had been hit by a significant cyber attack that saw its company records and sensitive employee documents, such as passports, published on the dark web.
Other major companies and institutions such as Optus and Medibank have also suffered high-profile attacks, with the St Vincent's Health network also targeted in the lead-up to Christmas.
This Cyber News was published on www.abc.net.au. Publication date: Mon, 01 Jan 2024 21:29:04 +0000