Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security Dan Tehan has urged small businesses to take urgent action to improve their cyber security in the wake of a global ransomware attack.
As of 9am AEST there had been 12 reports of Australian small businesses affected by what has likely been ‘WannaCry or WannaCrypt’ ransomware.
Mr Tehan said the ransomware had not affected Australia’s critical infrastructure or Government agencies.
“Small business owners should be pro-active about their cyber security in the wake of this ransomware campaign affecting computers around the world,” Mr Tehan said.
“If your business has been infected you should isolate the affected computer from your network to prevent the software spreading and use backup data to restore information.
“I urge all businesses to visit the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) website or call 1300 292371 (1300 CYBER1) for more information and to contact the ACSC if you have been infected.
“All businesses should immediately update their Windows operating system with the latest security patches and there are instructions on the ACSC website to do this.
“This ransomware attack is a wake-up call to all Australian businesses to regularly backup their data and install the latest security patches.
The Government will continue to provide updates on this issue.