Australian Lender Latitude Financial Reports AU$76 Million Cyberattack Costs

Australian financial services company Latitude Financial reported on Friday that the cyberattack disclosed earlier this year has cost it tens of millions of dollars.

In a financial report covering the first half of 2023, the consumer lender reported AU$76 million (roughly US$50 million) of pre-tax costs and provisions relating to the cyber incident. The company previously estimated a total cost of up to AU$105 million (roughly US$70 million).

In addition, the company said in its financial report, the cyberattack has had a negative impact on various aspects of the business.

The attack, which is believed to have been carried out by a ransomware group, has resulted in the exposure of information belonging to roughly 7.9 million people in Australia and New Zealand.

The compromised information includes contact details, dates of birth, driver’s license and passport numbers, driver’s license and passport copies, account statements, and income and expense information such as bank account numbers and payment card numbers.

The company confirmed shortly after the incident came to light that it had received a ransom demand, but said it would not be paying up.

It’s still unclear which threat group was behind the attack. The company has not made the information public, citing an ongoing police investigation.

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Latitude has been hit with a AU$1 million lawsuit over the data breach.

The incident has also sparked a debate on whether the Australian government should ban payments to ransomware groups in an effort to discourage cybercriminals from targeting organizations in the country.

https://www.securityweek.com/australian-lender-latitude-financial-reports-au76-million-cyberattack-costs/