As cyber attacks are rampant, Australia plans to legislate to prohibit the payment of ransoms to hackers

CTOnews.com, Nov. 14 (Reuters)-Australian Interior Minister Claire O'Neill said on Sunday that the government will consider making it illegal to pay ransoms to cyber hackers after a recent cyber attack that affected millions of Australians.

CTOnews.com learned that Medibank Private Ltd, Australia's largest health insurer, suffered a massive cyber attack last month, and that the networks of nine companies, including Optus, Australia's second-largest telecom operator, were hacked. Medibank, Australia's largest health insurer, was also hit by a massive cyber attack last month, leaking data on about 10 million customers.

Asked on ABC on Sunday whether the government planned to study outlawing the payment of ransoms to cyber criminals, O'Neill said, "that's right." she said: "We will do this in the context of cyber strategy."

O'Neill said that cyber security reform needs short-term results as well as long-term results. The government is studying whether new legal provisions are needed to prevent companies from paying ransoms to hackers after data leaks, which could soon be outlawed by hackers.

At present, the Australian government has established a new cyber policing model between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian signal Authority (which is responsible for intercepting electronic communications from foreign countries) to impose "new stringent regulation" on cybercrime. It is reported that about 100 police officers will join.