Extortion Stories

Australian Stories

Extortion stories

Australian firms urged to rethink ransomware defences

Ransomware is hitting Australian large businesses harder than global peers, with most victims still paying attackers despite backup defences.

By Mark Tarre • 5 min read • Last month

Data Protection

Survey finds Australians suffering cyber breach fatigue

Survey finds many Australians shrug off data breach warnings, seeing cyber attacks as inevitable despite rising risks and tailored support calls.

By Shannon Williams • 5 min read • Wed, 18th Mar 2026

Global Stories

Extortion stories

Software-as-a-Service

North Korea-linked hackers stole USD $2.02 billion

Losses from North Korea-linked digital asset theft jumped 51% in 2025, exposing banks and fintech firms to more identity-based intrusions.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 3 min read • Last month

Ransomware

Intruder finds exposed MySQL databases in 26% of firms

The findings show many firms still leave internet-facing databases and admin tools open, giving attackers easy routes before flaws are even published.

By Sean Mitchell • 4 min read • Last month

Marketing Technologies

NCA data disrupts 50,000 fraud accounts in Google tool

Shared UK crime data has helped Google disable nearly 50,000 fraudulent accounts and expose more than 5,000 fake bank websites.

By Joseph Gabriel Lagonsin • 4 min read • Last month

Software-as-a-Service

Ransomware posts rise 22% as leak sites proliferate

Leak-site noise is making it harder for firms to tell real breaches from extortion theatre, as active sites hit 91 in the first quarter of 2026.

By Joseph Gabriel Lagonsin • 5 min read • Wed, 29th Apr 2026

Unified Communications

Former Black Basta affiliates target executives in Teams

Senior staff are increasingly in the crosshairs as suspected former Black Basta affiliates use Teams impersonation to seize remote access.

By Joseph Gabriel Lagonsin • 4 min read • Thu, 16th Apr 2026

Data Protection

World Backup Day warnings over ransomware resilience gaps

Many firms still lack recoverable copies of critical data as ransomware increasingly targets cloud and SaaS systems, experts warn.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 8 min read • Tue, 31st Mar 2026

Virtualisation

Google Mandiant report spots faster, stealthier cyberattacks

Google's latest Mandiant report warns cyberattacks are faster and stealthier as AI-powered tools narrow defenders' response times to seconds.

By Sean Mitchell • 5 min read • Tue, 24th Mar 2026

Firewalls

US disrupts four IoT botnets in record DDoS attacks

US authorities say they have crippled four vast IoT botnets behind record 30Tbps DDoS attacks, in a major cross-border operation.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 3 min read • Mon, 23rd Mar 2026

Malware

AI agents drive surge in cyber threats & extortion

AI agents are fuelling a new wave of cyber risk, as criminals weaponise automation to speed up ransomware and sharpen extortion tactics.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 6 min read • Sat, 14th Mar 2026

Firewalls

Big firms detect cyberattacks but fail to contain them

Big businesses can spot cyber intrusions but struggle to contain them fast, leaving cloud-era networks exposed to deeper, costlier breaches.

By Joseph Gabriel Lagonsin • 4 min read • Fri, 13th Mar 2026

Data Protection

Ransomware dominates UK cyber incidents, data loss surges

Ransomware drives over half of UK cyber incidents as data loss surges, with healthcare, retail and complex supply chains hardest hit.

By Shannon Williams • 4 min read • Tue, 10th Mar 2026

Stories from Other Regions

Extortion stories

Malware

Industrial firms hit hardest by ransomware attacks

Exposure of operational technology is leaving industrial operators most vulnerable, with attacks able to halt production and disrupt essential services.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 3 min read • Last month