Hack extortion attack targets child; TPG's new FTTB retail arm; NewSat CEO, CFO ousted

Police are warning organisations to be aware of combined hacking and extortion attempts, after hackers targeted the family of a senior employee at a Brisbane-based company.

According to Queensland Police, the computer system of an international company based in Brisbane was hacked and “data pertaining to sensitive operations involving the company and [its] business” was stolen.

The hackers demanded a ransom be paid - in the form of Bitcoin - and the company complied. The Brisbane Times reported that the ransom was worth $14,000.

The hackers went on to demand a larger ransom from the business. The business refused the second ransom and contacted police.

Following this, “Hackers then profiled a senior member of the organisation, identified their family and threatened to discredit members of his family through online attacks particularly targeting a child,” a statement from Queensland Police said.

According to the Brisbane Times, the hackers obtained photographs of the staff member’s child.

Acting Assistant Commissioner, State Crime Command, Brian Hay, was quoted as saying: “They had obtained innocent photographs, but the threat was they would harass, menace and ruin this child’s life.”

In a statement, Hay said: “We are strongly urging business to ensure their computer systems are secure and protected from hackers, that they adopt a policy of not paying ransom demands and carefully consider the information posted on social media.

“Organisations need to think about putting in place a strategy to counteract or respond to these type of incidents. But the one message that I cannot stress enough is to never comply with extortion demands and report these matters to us immediately,” Hay said.

TPG’s new retail arm

TPG has formed a new retail company called Wondercom to sell its wholesale FTTB product to residential customers, at least according to a report from ITnews.

Under the federal government’s carrier licence condition revealed on 14 December last year, owners of superfast fixed line broadband networks targeting residential customers are required to offer wholesale services on a non-discriminatory basis, and to functionally separate their wholesale and retail businesses.

According to a statement from the office of Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, these requirements were “designed to support fairer and more effective retail competition by ensuring competing service providers can access new residential broadband networks and provide alternative offerings”.

Carriers were given a deadline of 1 July 2015 to have separate wholesale and retail companies with separate directors, management, staff and operational support systems.

Last Thursday a user on Australian broadband forum Whirlpool posted a letter they claim to have received from TPG regarding the FTTB service they obtain from the ISP.

The letter indicates that TPG will transfer its FTTB customers to Wondercom, effective 1 July 2015, and instructs that the website www.wondercom.com.au has more information on that company.

The sparse website barely mentions TPG, but it does say: “Through our wholesale partnership with the nation’s top FTTB network provider, TPG, we can now deliver cutting-edge technology right to your doorstep.”

According to ASIC, an application to register Wondercom as a proprietary company was lodged on 16 April, and the registration took place the following day.

Despite reporting that Wondercom is an offshoot of TPG, ITnews noted that TPG did not respond to requests for comments, and TPG would only say that Wondercom was a “wholesale customer of the TPG Group”.

Technology Decisions has contacted TPG for clarification.

NewSat’s CEO, CFO sacked

The CEO and CFO of Australian satellite company NewSat have been let go from the organisation.

The Australian reported late last week that CEO Adrian Ballantine and CFO Mark Spragg were both shown the door by company administrators PPB Advisory and receivers McGrathNicol.

NewSat reportedly went into administration in April.

The Australian quoted McGrathNicol as saying that Ballantine and Spragg’s positions were “surplus to NewSat’s needs”.

“Consequently, Mr Adrian Ballantine’s role as chief executive officer was terminated by way of redundancy on 29 May 2015 and Mr Mark Spragg’s consulting role as interim chief financial officer was terminated on 3 June 2015,” McGrathNicol was quoted as saying.

Image courtesy Valerie Lawson under CC