Australian Firms Buckle Under Ransomware Pressure, Paying Highest Rates Globally

A concerning trend has emerged in Australia, where cybercriminals are increasingly targeting businesses with ransomware attacks. According to a recent survey of 3,200 large companies by data security firm Cohesity, a staggering 96% of breached Australian businesses have paid ransomware demands in the past year. This rate is the highest globally and well above the international average of 82%.

The findings paint a troubling picture of Australia as a prime target for cybercriminals. Not only are Australian organizations more likely to succumb to ransom demands, they are also experiencing attacks at unprecedented levels. One high-profile incident was the Qantas breach, disclosed in July, which was part of a sophisticated campaign by the hacking group Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters. The attackers used AI-powered "vishing" (voice phishing) to trick employees at a Manila-based Qantas call center into installing malicious software, granting access to customer databases containing sensitive information.

Despite the growing threat, both Qantas and Salesforce, whose customer relationship management platform was also compromised, refused to pay the ransom demanded by the hackers. Days later, the stolen data appeared online, accompanied by a warning from the cybercriminals: "Don't be the next headline, should have paid the ransom."