Cyber sanctions used in response to Medibank cyber attack

Australian Community Media

Australia's autonomous cyber sanctions framework was used for the first time as a result of an 18-month investigation into the Medibank Private cyber attack.

Transcript

00:00 This is a very important day for cyber security in our country.

00:04 This is the first time an Australian government has identified a cyber criminal

00:08 and imposed cyber sanctions of this kind, and it will not be the last.

00:13 Medibank, in my view, was the single most devastating cyber attack

00:18 that we have experienced as a nation.

00:20 We all went through it, literally millions of people

00:22 having personal data about themselves, about their family members,

00:26 taken from them and cruelly placed online for others to see.

00:30 It helped us, I think, understand the enormous cost this problem will have

00:34 to all of us as Australians if we don't step up to this challenge.

00:38 It also showed us something about the calibre of people we are dealing with

00:42 in terms of this problem on the other side.

00:44 These people are cowards and they are scumbags.

00:47 They hide behind technology, and today the Australian government

00:51 is saying that when we put our minds to it,

00:53 we will unveil who you are and we will make sure that you are accountable.

00:57 This morning I can announce that Australia has used cyber sanctions powers

01:01 for the very first time on a Russian individual

01:03 for his role in the breach of the Medibank private network.

01:09 As you might recall, more than nine million records of Australians,

01:13 including names, dates of birth, Medicare numbers and sensitive information,

01:17 were stolen in the 2022 attack, and the majority published on the dark web.

01:22 It was an egregious violation.

01:24 It impacted some of the most vulnerable members of the Australian community.

01:28 I can confirm that thanks to the hard work of the Australian Signals Directorate

01:32 and the AFP, we have linked Russian citizen and cyber criminal

01:37 Alexander Ermakov to the attack.

01:40 Let me start by saying that the decision that the Foreign Minister has taken today

01:44 is a hugely significant and unprecedented step,

01:51 and it comes as a result of the significant efforts

01:56 on the part of the Australian Signals Directorate

01:59 in identifying Alexander Ermakov as a person who participated

02:04 in the cyber attack on Medibank last year.

02:08 Australians should take an enormous sense of confidence

02:13 in the professionalism and skill that exists within ASD

02:19 in this case, because it's an example of the work that has been able to be undertaken by ASD

02:27 in a meticulous way over the last 18 months in hunting down Alexander Ermakov

02:33 and being able to identify him as a part of the hack in relation to Medibank.

02:39 All right.

02:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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