ForceNet, a defence communication platform used by Australian military personnel and defence staff, has fallen victim to a cyberattack.
On Monday, Assistant Minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite confirmed that the platform took a hit from a cyberattack. However, no data has been compromised.
“I want to stress that this isn't an attack or a breach on defence (technology) systems and entities,” he told ABC Radio. “At this stage, there is no evidence that the dataset has been breached, that's the data that this company holds on behalf of defence.”
However, the Australian Broadcasting Corp claimed that some personal information, such as military personnel's dates of birth and enlistment details, may have been stolen.
Thistlethwaite said the Australian government will consider the incident “very seriously” and notify all defence personnel to change their passwords.
Meanwhile, a defence department spokesperson told Reuters that they are investigating the contents of the impacted dataset and personal information included.
The ForceNet breach is included in a series of successful cyberattacks in Australia, most recently Medibank, where the criminal was found to have access to all customers' personal data. In response to the recent breaches, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) issued reminders for its regulated entities.
