Cyberattack impacts Australian infrastructure services firm

Major Australian essential infrastructure services provider Ventia has disconnected some of its key systems to mitigate a cyberattack initially detected on July 8 but reassured the following day that operations have not been disrupted as it deals with the intrusion, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. "We are maintaining vigilance across our systems. We will not hesitate to take further protective action if required as operations return to normal in the days ahead. We will provide further updates to our nominated customer representatives, regulators, and other stakeholders as our response to the incident progresses," said Ventia, which caters to the healthcare, energy, telecommunications, water, defense, mining, oil and gas, and education sectors. Such a cyberattack comes after a string of hacking incidents in Australia over the past year, including breaches at major financial services organization Latitude Financial, major telecommunications firm Optus, and health insurer Medibank.