Australia sets up 100-strong permanent 'operation' to target hackers

Australia will set up a permanent operation comprising around 100 police and defence personnel to “hack the hackers”, with an immediate priority to target ransomware groups.

The personnel come together from the Australian Federal Police and Australian Signals Directorate under what is being termed a “joint standing operation”.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Minister for Cyber Security Clare O’Neil said:

“This operation will collect intelligence and identify ring-leaders, networks and infrastructure in order to disrupt and stop their operations – regardless of where they are.” 

The operation will aim to “stop… incidents before they start”; in addition, “where incidents do take place… cyber criminals will be hunted down and their networks disrupted.”

The ASD has for several years said it has offensive capabilities to target and disrupt hackers.

O’Neil said in a press conference from Melbourne that the permanent operation represented “a new model of policing”.

- CyberBeat