Australia’s Latitude Group opposed to paying ransom to cyber attack criminals

“We will not reward criminal behaviour, nor do we believe that paying a ransom will result in the return or destruction of the information that was stolen,” Latitude said in a statement on Tuesday.

Last month, the company said hackers stole nearly 8 million Australian and New Zealand drivers licence numbers in one of the country’s biggest confirmed data breaches.

Latitude, which provides consumer finance services to retailers Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi, had also taken its platforms offline.

“Regular business operations are being restored, with Latitude’s primary Customer Contact Centre back online and operating at full capacity,” said the company.

Several Australian firms have reported cyber attacks over the past few months, which experts attribute to an understaffed cyber security industry.

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Last week, an Australian government-backed service for victims of identity theft blasted a plan to toughen privacy laws amid an explosion of online data theft, saying it would spur compromised companies to pay ransom and invite more hacking.IDCare, a non-profit that helps internet crime victims, said by making it easier for regulators to fine companies for poor data security and failing to criminalise ransom payment, Australia may inadvertently fuel a cyber-crimewave.

The message came in an unpublished submission, reviewed by Reuters, to the attorney general who is working to update privacy law for the internet age just as the country experiences a spike in large-scale data thefts that the government says has touched almost every family.

“A significant reason why Australian governments and businesses are increasingly targeted by ransomware attacks … is because we pay,” IDCare said in the submission.

IDCare’s views will count heavily in a government review of privacy laws expected to make it easier to fine or sue companies that fail to protect customer data, as it has become one of Canberra’s go-to referral groups to help victims of cyber crime.