Select Page

Incident: Ransomware attack on Dialog also took down defence app ForceNet | iTWire

Incident: Ransomware attack on Dialog also took down defence app ForceNet | iTWire

Australian Defence Ransomware Incident, 31 October 2022

Ransomware attack on Dialog also took down Australian Department of Defence service ForceNet

An Agenda ransomware attack hit a communications platform used by the Department of Defence

Source: Ransomware attack on Dialog also took down defence app ForceNet | iTWire

View more incidents from Defence and Miltary, and Managed Service Provider sectors.

A communications platform used by the Department of Defence has been hit by a ransomware attack. Hackers targeted the ForceNet service, which is run by the external provider Dialog.

A defence spokesperson said: “Defence has recently been informed a 2018 ForceNet dataset, containing personal information of current and former Australian Defence Force Members (ADF) and Australian Public Servants (APS), may have been part of a ransomware attack on an external ICT service provider”

Related breach: “The Dialog Group (Dialog) today confirmed that the company has experienced a cyber security incident in which an unauthorised third party may have accessed company data, potentially affecting fewer than 20 clients and 1,000 current Dialog employees as well as former employees.

“Initial discussions with the service provider indicate there is no evidence that the data of current and former APS staff and ADF personnel has been compromised.

“Defence is examining the contents of the 2018 ForceNet dataset and what personal information it contains”

Among Dialog’s other customers in Australia are the NSW Electoral Commission, the Department of Human Services, Queensland Health, Virgin Australia, NAB, Suncorp, Alfred Health, University of Tasmania, and Rio Tinto. The company was bought by Singtel in April for $325 million and employs more than a thousand IT specialists.

 


About The Author

Steven Kirby

I provide independent and practical consultancy services through raising awareness and fostering the energy for change that delivers improved business management of information security governance, risk and compliance.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Please follow the Source link to the original article to support the content owner. We only provide a brief summary with metadata to assist in categorisation.

More Australian News

Unfolding in real time: Artificial intelligence is reshaping cybersecurity

Key takeaways The cybersecurity capability of next-generation frontier artificial intelligence (AI) models is increasing rapidly. Large language … [...]

NSW Government Bulletin: Managing employee social media content in the public sector

Over recent years, the increase in social media activity across different platforms has facilitated opportunities for employees to comment on a broad … [...]

Australia: Pixel Perfect – The regulator addresses use of tracking pixels

On 11 June 2026, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) published two determinations against Medmate Australia Pty Ltd (Medmate) … [...]

Discover how modern corporate investigations are shifting from email to chat and encrypted apps. Learn essential strategies for defensible forensic… [...]

Australian Cyber Aware - As It Was 2606 - June 2026

This monthly review provides a curated summary of Australian and New Zealand cyber, privacy, and information security developments identified during … [...]

Key Trends in Cyber Security and Data Privacy (2026): a General Counsel lens - Governance Institute of Australia

Cyber security and data privacy are now core governance tests – demanding clear decision-making authority, disciplined escalation and evidence that … [...]

OAIC ordered to turn over Amex privacy determination in full

Australia’s privacy watchdog has been told to turn over full details of an investigation into American Express that uncovered security and access … [...]

How to stay cyber secure: Australia’s top cyber agency releases Privileged User Training video series

The new training series offers a pathway for IT professionals to strengthen their cyber security skills and better understand cyber criminal … [...]

NSW Rural Fire Service admits security incident

The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) is investigating a cybersecurity incident after a hacker gained access to its information and communications … [...]

Scams surge as cybercrime falls

Cybercrime declined in Australia last year, but fraud and scams bucked the trend and victims have given up complaining, the Australian Institute of … [...]

Generation Life confirms customers impacted in April cyber incident

Aussie investment firm Generation Life has confirmed that customer data was impacted in a cyber attack it suffered back in April. • Fri, 26 Jun 2026 • … [...]

In wake of KPMG scandal, government considers splitting accounting firms' auditing and consulting arms

Accounting firms could be asked to split their lucrative consulting services from their audit functions and individual firm partners could face far … [...]

Shares
Share This

Discover more from Australian Cyber Aware

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading