Australia unveils joint cyber police taskforce to ‘hunt down’ hackers
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia on Saturday formalised a new cyber-policing model in a stepped-up effort to “hunt down” cyber criminal syndicates, following recent hacks impacting millions of Australians. Australia’s biggest health insurer, Medibank Private Ltd, last month was hit by a massive cyber attack, as Australia grapples with a rise in damaging hacks. ILLUSTRATION: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration […]
Australian police seek to protect 10,000 customers after Optus hack
Sydney, Australia Reuters Australian authorities said on Friday they have commenced an operation to protect the personal information of 10,000 people whose data may have been shared online after a cyber attack on Optus, the country’s second-largest telco. The efforts come three days after an unidentified person posted online that they had released personal details […]
Global crackdown on organised crime after high-tech US-Australia sting
Canberra, AustraliaReuters US and Australian authorities hacked into an app used by criminals to read millions of encrypted messages, leading to hundreds of arrests of suspected organised crime figures in 18 countries, Australian officials said on Tuesday. “Operation Ironside” by Australian police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation ensnared suspects in Australia, Asia, South […]
Maldives leader: Blast that hurt Nasheed attacked democracy
Male, MaldivesAP The Maldives President said Friday an explosion that wounded former leader Mohamed Nasheed was an attack on the country’s democracy and economy, and announced that Australian police would assist the investigation. Nasheed, 53, was wounded in the blast Thursday night outside his home and was being treated in a hospital in the capital, […]
Australian police find nothing criminal in Vatican fund transfers
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Australian police said on Tuesday that they had found nothing criminal in the transfer of $US7.3 million from the Vatican to Australia between 2014 and 2020. Financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC scrutinised the transactions after Italian media reported in September that large sums of money had been sent to Australia during the trial of […]
Australian police find no crime in Vatican money transfers
Canberra, AustraliaAP Australian police said Wednesday they found no evidence of criminal misconduct in money transfers from the Vatican that a financial agency mistakenly inflated by almost $US1.8 billion and fueled corruption speculation. Australian Federal Police investigated the transfers to Australia that the country’s financial intelligence agency, Austrac, reported to the Senate in December amounted […]
Australian anti-graft agency dismisses Vatican speculation
Canberra, AustraliaAP An Australian anti-graft agency said on Wednesday it was not investigating the transfer of Vatican funds to Australia because of a lack of evidence of wrongdoing, further undermining Italian media speculation that the money might be linked to the overturned convictions of Cardinal George Pell for child sex abuse. Italian newspaper Corriere della […]
Australian police get information on alleged Vatican funds transfer amid Pell case
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Australia’s financial crimes watchdog said it had handed information to police about the alleged transfer of Vatican funds to Australia amid the prosecution of former Vatican treasurer George Pell for child sex abuse. Italian media recently reported that Pell’s nemesis, Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, sent €700,000 to Australia to help Pell’s “enemies” while […]
Cambodia feared lagging behind predators in cybersex trafficking crackdown
Phnom PenhThomson Reuters Foundation US and Australian crime fighters are preparing Cambodia for a spike in online child sex abuse cases but local officials fear that predators are a step ahead of police due to narrow laws. The spread of cheap, high-speed internet and the rise in mobile phone ownership is fuelling cybersex trafficking across […]