Following a series of major data breaches in Australia, the government is undertaking a significant overhaul of its cyber security rules. To better protect against cyber threats, legislators are establishing an agency tasked with managing government investments in cyber security and coordinating national responses to cyber attacks.

In March 2022, the Lazarus Group, a North Korea-backed hacking group, stole around $5.84 million worth of cryptocurrency through the Axie Infinity Ronin Bridge hack. However, over ten months later, the Norwegian police agency Økokrim announced they had seized the stolen funds.

Sportswear retailer JD Sports has confirmed that a recent cyber-attack may have resulted in the exposure of around 10 million customers’ personal data, including names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, order details, and the last four digits of bank cards linked to online orders placed between Nov 2018 and Oct 2020.

Online scams have become so common that we are immediately suspicious whenever we see a pop-up on a website, get an email with a link to click, or a file to open. So how is it possible that so many people and organizations continue to fall for whatever cybercriminals throw their way?

There is an erroneous assumption made by many of us that cybercrime is something that occurs in the shadows, that it is anonymous, perhaps only discussed in the far reaches of the deep web. However, there is more and more evidence coming to light of cybercriminals brazenly advertising their wares.