Vanuatu Government Seek Australia Help After Hackers Attack |#Hacker| #Cyberattack|
Australia is supporting Vanuatu’s government to mend its entire IT network after a cyber attack maimed its systems, forcing bureaus offline and causing disarray throughout the civil service.
The cyberattack shut down the Pacific Island government’s entry to emails and internal systems, forcing some workers to use pen and paper, resulting in widespread delays throughout the country.
Vanuatu Government Fails to Meet Demands
The hackers demanded a ransom after they initially incapacitated the network last week, but Vanuatu’s government refused to acquiesce to their request. Subsequently, the Australian Cybersecurity Center Signals Directorate is helping them restore the network.
In doing so, they started from scratch. The Vanuatu Chief Information Officer said in an announcement on November 9, that all the online aids such as email, network shares, Voice over Internet Protocol services, and other online services offered by the government were inactive.
The government’s website was still unavailable on Monday and government officials were helpless to receive emails. Nonetheless, public relations officer Joe Harry Keru stated that he is confident they will complete the restoration next week.
.He further ascertained that the Australian government was helping Vanuatu restore the system’s network. Keru added that some officials were able to keep performing via their phones and through hot spots on their mobiles.
Chain Of Cyber Attack Flooding Australia
However, the attack on Vanuatu’s infrastructure is the latest in a chain of breaches of critical IT systems around the world.
Vanuatu is seen as an increasingly essential partner for Australia in the Pacific as Canberra ramps up its concentration with the region in response to China’s growing economic, security, and development initiatives.
Australian Federal Police commissioner Reece Kershaw on Friday said that a Russian gang was behind a Medibank hack that disclosed medical data of millions of customers.
Furthermore, In September, hackers retrieved the details of 10 million Optus customers in a breach that will cost the telecommunications giant $140 million.
Cyber security minister Clare O’Neill said Australia would set up a stable 100-officer partnership between the Australian Signals Directorate and the Australian Federal Police to resist cyber-attacks.