Media giant Nine Entertainment Co has requested the assistance of the Australian Signals Directorate after a major cyber attack hit its broadcast systems in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Government MP Andrew Hastie said on Sunday night he was “not surprised” about the attack, which caused problems with Nine’s live broadcasting operations, and said it was a warning to all businesses that they need to be aware of potential threats.
“This is a timely reminder that Australians cannot be complacent about their cyber security. Cyber security is a team effort and a shared responsibility,” Mr Hastie, who is the chair of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, said. “It is vital that Australian businesses and organisations are alert to threats and take the necessary steps to ensure our digital sovereignty.”
Technical issues at Nine Entertainment Co meant Weekend Today could not go to air.Credit:Nick Moir
Incoming Nine chief executive Mike Sneesby confirmed on Sunday night the incident was a cyber attack. Nine’s director of people and culture Vanessa Morley said the company may be unable to fully restore systems for some time and instructed staff to work from home indefinitely. The origin and motive of the attack is unclear, but no requests for ransom have been made.
Sources familiar with the discussions at Nine said the company had been in talks with a large number of external security experts on Sunday who said they had not seen this kind of attack before in Australia. The sources said the experts believe it is some kind of ransomware likely created by a state-based actor. The Australian Cyber Security Centre, part of the ASD, confirmed it had offered technical assistance to Nine after it made contact about th ..
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