Russian hackers have targeted Transurban, the operator of Sydney’s Cross City Tunnel, one of Australia’s busiest toll road tunnels, demanding a ransom in exchange for not releasing sensitive data.
The deadline for compliance is set for June 26, but Transurban has refused to meet the demand, claiming the threat to be empty. The hackers, known as Lockbit, conducted a series of 24 hacks on global targets within a 24-hour period, with the Cross City Tunnel being one of their victims.
Transurban has stated that the hack has not affected the tunnel’s business operations, assuring the 35,000 motorists who use it daily that they have nothing to worry about.
The company clarified that the historical data accessed by Lockbit came from a previous third-party provider and included invoices and consultant fees from 2008 to 2013. However, cybersecurity experts warn that the full extent of the potential data exposure remains uncertain.
Lockbit, a prolific group of hackers believed to have state-sanctioned authorization from Russia, has increasingly targeted Australian infrastructure. They have previously targeted organizations such as a council in Iceland and a private school in New Jersey.
This incident follows the Medibank data breach, where Russian hackers stole private information, including medical records, after the health insurer refused to pay a ransom. In response, Australia’s cybersecurity minister has launched a new policing operation to combat these threats and protect the privacy of Australian citizens.
