It has happened: a company that failed to implement proper cyber security measures in Australia has been taken to court by the regulators, with the company ordered to pay costs of $750,000.

In the matter of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission v RI Advice Group Pty Ltd [2022] FCA 496, the Court found that a financial services provider had breached its licence obligations, and failed to act efficiently or fairly by not having in place adequate risk management systems to cater for risks arising in relation to cyber security.

On 21 June 2021, Shadow Assistant Minister for Cyber Security, Tim Watts introduced the private members Ransomware Payments Bill 2021 (Cth) into Parliament. The Bill would require the Commonwealth Government and big businesses to report ransomware payments to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC).

The Bill was introduced in response to the 200% increase in reported ransomware attacks on Australian organisations - including prominent incidents affecting companies such as JBS Foods and Nine Entertainment.

In a recent article, Holman Webb highlighted the importance of the Essential Eight mitigation strategies recommended by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) which, if implemented, minimises the chance of an organisation falling victim to a cyber-attack.

With this in mind, we thought it timely to remind readers of the importance of staff training and cyber-security vigilance.

Readers will recall from an article Holman Webb published back in 2018 that the Australian Cybersecurity Centre recommended eight best-practice mitigation strategies (the 'Essential Eight') that organisations should implement as a baseline defence against targeted cyber intrusions, ransomware and malicious insiders.

These strategies may seem relatively straightforward to those working within the IT industry, but the failure of organisations to implement the strategies (including government instrumentalities) has moved the Australian government to consider mandating the implementation of the Essential Eight controls, and requiring all public service entities to implement them forthwith.

Recent reports that former NRL player Benny Elias was scammed out of $860,000 when hackers impersonated his lawyer during a property transaction come as an important reminder to be extra careful when transferring money online.