Steps continue to be taken in the cryptocurrency markets. Accordingly, an interesting decision has come from Australian authorities. According to the decision, companies in the country are required to be completely transparent and report ransomware cyber attacks on businesses. The Australian economy lost $2.59 billion due to cyber crimes in 2021.
First Step Taken by Australian Officials
According to a report presented to the public by Australian authorities on November 13th, the national cyber security strategy, which will be announced in November, will address a mandatory system that requires businesses to alert the government about ransomware cyber attacks that cause harm to businesses nationwide. However, if a company fails to report such an incident to the relevant authorities, no fines will be imposed.
During this process, Air Marshal Darren Goldie, the new National Cyber Security Coordinator, stated that although companies have lost their trust in this regard, companies will be allowed to pay ransom. In October, Australia joined approximately 40 other countries that pledged not to pay ransomware demands made against government agencies and took a step in this regard.
As announced by the Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security, Clare O’Neil, the government plans to seek information from the business world regarding the design of this mandatory system before implementing it:
“We will create a ransomware guide that will provide clear guidance to businesses and citizens on how to prepare for ransom demands, how to deal with them, and how to recover.”
Hack Attacks in the Crypto Market
Ransomware attacks continue to be a widespread problem in the crypto sector. In July, the US Department of Justice announced that its cryptocurrency crimes unit had doubled in size and focused on combating ransomware crimes.
According to blockchain data analysis platform Chainalysis, wallets involved in ransomware attacks often prefer cryptocurrency mining pools to launder the funds obtained through hacking. The research firm noted an increase in the value of funds sent from ransomware wallets to mining pools. In another example, Chainalysis highlighted that a exchange wallet address had received $158.3 million from ransomware addresses since 2018.
