Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Abortions, Drug Use Exposed in Cyber Attack on Australian Health Insurer Medibank
Nov 14 2022 // When the Australian health insurer Medibank Private Ltd. was hit with a ransomware attack last month, it provided regular updates to its customers, including the revelation that personal information from nearly 10 million...
Data Stolen From Australian Health Insurer Medibank Posted on Dark Web
Nov 9 2022 // Data stolen from an Australian health insurer, including the names, addresses and birthdates of hundreds of customers, has been posted to a forum on the so-called dark web. The files appear to be a sample of the data that...
Australian Corporate Watchdog Investigates Firms for ‘Greenwashing’
Nov 8 2022 // Australia’s corporate watchdog is investigating several companies and financial institutions for “greenwashing,” or exaggerated claims regarding environment-friendly investment and products, a senior...
Cyber Attack on Australian Insurer Medibank Far Bigger Than Initially Thought
Nov 7 2022 // A hack on an Australian health insurer appears to be far larger than initially suspected, with the company saying it will refuse to pay a ransom for the theft of data. The attack on Medibank Private Ltd. exposed the data...
Insured Losses for Australia’s October 2021 Storms Estimated at A$972M: PERILS
Oct 31 2022 // Insured losses for the severe storms, which hit Southern Australia on Oct. 28-30, 2021, are estimated at A$972 million (US$623.1 million), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides...
Australia’s Hacking Frenzy Spurred by Understaffed Cybersecurity Workforce
Oct 31 2022 // A swathe of hacks on some of Australia’s biggest companies has made the country a target for copycat attacks just as a skills shortage leaves an understaffed, overworked cybersecurity workforce ill-equipped to stop...
Australia’s No. 1 Health Insurer Confirms Massive Data Breach, Theft of Patient Details
Oct 20 2022 // Australia’s biggest health insurer said on Thursday a criminal had apparently stolen customers’ medical information as part of a massive breach of data, fueling concern about a wave of high-profile cyber...
Australian Insurer Medibank Says Hackers Claim to Have Stolen Customer Data
Oct 19 2022 // Australia’s Medibank Private Ltd. said on Wednesday an unnamed hacker group had contacted it negotiate about customer data it claimed to have retrieved from the health insurer’s IT systems. The news comes six...
Australia Banks May Have to Rethink Mortgages in Areas Prone to Extreme Weather: NAB
Oct 18 2022 // Australian banks may have to rethink whether they sell mortgages in areas prone to extreme weather events, the chief executive of the country’s second-biggest lender said on Tuesday as thousands of homes in Melbourne...
Flash Floods Again Lash Southeast Australia, Forcing Evacuations
Oct 14 2022 // Thousands of people across Australia’s southeast were asked to evacuate their homes on Friday, including some in a western suburb of Melbourne, after two days of incessant rains triggered flash flooding and...
Australian Health Insurer Medibank Reports Cyber Incident
Oct 13 2022 // Australian health insurer Medibank Private said on Thursday it will isolate and remove access to some customer-facing systems as it detected unusual activity on its network. The company said it took “immediate steps...
Heavy Rains Ease Across Australia’s East but Flood Threats Remain
Oct 10 2022 // Heavy rains eased across Australia’s east on Monday, a slight relief for flood-weary residents but authorities warned another intense weather system could hit several inland regions bringing more downpours and...
Climate Activists Ask Insurers to Withhold Cover for Giant Australian LNG Project
Oct 5 2022 // Climate NGOs are calling on insurers to withhold coverage for a giant LNG project and hold firm to their net zero ambitions. Reclaim Finance and other organizations have sent letters to global insurers, including AXA SA,...
Optus’ Parent Company Singtel Assesses Potential Cost of Australia Data Breach
Oct 3 2022 // Singapore Telecommunications said on Monday it was assessing the potential cost of a massive cyber-security breach at its Optus arm, Australia’s second-largest telco, 12 days ago. In its second comment on the breach...
Australia’s AUB Completes Acquisition of Lloyd’s Broker Tysers from PE Firm Odyssey
Sep 30 2022 // Australia’s AUB Group Ltd. (AUB) announced it has completed its acquisition of leading Lloyd’s wholesale broker Tysers from Odyssey Investment Partners. The acquisition, which was first announced in May 2022,...
Australian Police Aim to Protect 10,000 Optus Customers After Cyber Attack
Sep 30 2022 // Australian authorities said on Friday they have commenced an operation to protect the personal information of 10,000 people whose data may have been shared online after a cyber attack on Optus, the country’s...
Optus Must Pay Cost of Replacing Hacked Customer Documents: Australia Government
Sep 29 2022 // Australian telecoms giant Optus must pay the cost of replacing the passports and drivers licenses of millions of customers whose personal information was stolen in one of the country’s biggest data breaches, the...
Australian Police Probe Purported Ransomware Attack at Telecom Firm Optus
Sep 28 2022 // CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian police were investigating a purported hacker’s release of the stolen personal data of 10,000 customers of the nation’s second-largest wireless carrier and demand for...
Proposed Australian Law Would Make It Employers’ Job to Stop Sexual Harassment
Sep 27 2022 // New legislation introduced into Australia’s Parliament will place a “positive duty” on employers to prevent workplace sexual harassment, as part of sweeping changes to improve worker safety. Under the...
Australia Plans to Toughen Privacy Rules After Massive Cyber Attack on Optus
Sep 26 2022 // Australia plans to toughen privacy rules to force companies to notify banks faster when they experience cyber attacks, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday, after hackers targeted the country’s...
