Tue Apr 7 15:10:08 2020
<773ab1f1> <https://www.cyberscoop.com/australia-coronavirus-hacking-criminals/|https://www.cyberscoop.com/australia-coronavirus-hacking-criminals/>
— Australian government says it is hacking criminals who are exploiting the pandemic – CyberScoop
— As governments around the world consider their options for cracking down on scammers exploiting the coronavirus pandemic, Australia is touting one of the more muscular approaches. The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) “has mobilized its offensive cyber capabilities to disrupt foreign cyber criminals responsible for a spate of malicious activities during COVID-19,” the Australian defense ministry said in a statement Tuesday. The ASD, the country’s lead agency for hacking operations, has “already successfully disrupted activities from foreign criminals by disabling their infrastructure and blocking their access to stolen information,” Australian Minister of Defense Linda Reynolds said. “Some of these cybercriminals have even posed as health officials in an attempt to exploit vulnerable Australians, by infecting their computers with malware and stealing their private information.” COVID-19-related scams and phishing attempts targeting people around the world have surged in recent weeks as criminals and spies prey on people’s health fears. In Australia, a …
