The Iran Israel confrontation is expanding into cyberspace. A cyberattack linked to pro Iran hackers disrupted medical technology giant Stryker, highlighting how geopolitical conflict can now spill directly into hospitals, businesses and supply chains across the connected global economy.
Singtel executives fronted a Senate inquiry, categorically denying explosive allegations that a secret ransom was paid to hackers following the massive 2022 Optus data breach that exposed personal information of 9.8 million Australians, amid ongoing inquiry into the telco's operational failures.
Joint advisory by Australian, New Zealand, and Tongan cyber authorities warns of rising INC Ransom attacks on critical infrastructure. The RaaS group has breached 11 Australian organisations, mainly in healthcare and professional services.
Melbourne-based broker ThinkMarkets has been hit by the Chaos ransomware group, which stole 512GB of data. The breach includes employee passports and customer KYC records, posing a major risk to the Australian financial services firm and its clients worldwide.
Cyber News Centre's cyber update for 12th December 2025: Melbourne-headquartered online trading broker ThinkMarkets has become the latest Australian financial services firm to be targeted by a ransomware attack, with the emerging Chaos group claiming to have stolen a significant volume of sensitive data.
ThinkMarkets is a multi-regulated online brokerage firm established in 2010, with headquarters in Melbourne and London. The company provides CFD trading services across forex, stocks, and cryptocurrencies to clients in over 165 countries and holds 10 regulatory licenses, including from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
Update: The Chaos ransomware group listed ThinkMarkets on its dark web leak site earlier this week, claiming to have exfiltrated 512 gigabytes of data from the Australian broker. The threat actors have reportedly published the data online after ransom negotiations failed. The compromised information is extensive, containing highly sensitive corporate and personal records. According to security researchers who have viewed the data, the leak includes internal human resources files, details of customer disputes, legal advice, and confidential trading information.
Most alarmingly, the breach exposed scans of employee passports and know-your-customer (KYC) verification documents for a number of the firm’s clients. The Chaos group, first observed in February 2025, is a relatively new ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation actively recruiting affiliates on Russian-speaking forums. The group employs a double-extortion model, threatening to publish stolen data if ransom demands, which have been as high as $300,000 in previous attacks, are not met. ThinkMarkets has not yet issued a public statement on the incident.
Why it Matters: This attack on an ASIC-regulated broker highlights the significant and growing threat to Australia’s financial services sector. The exfiltration of passport scans and KYC documents creates a severe risk of identity theft and financial fraud for both employees and clients of ThinkMarkets. For Australian investors, it is a stark reminder that even regulated financial entities are vulnerable to sophisticated cyber attacks.
The incident also underscores the operational risk posed by emerging RaaS groups like Chaos, which can quickly scale their attacks and cause widespread damage. The breach serves as a critical warning for the entire financial supply chain, demonstrating that robust security measures are essential to protect sensitive client data and maintain trust in the digital economy.
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The Iran Israel confrontation is expanding into cyberspace. A cyberattack linked to pro Iran hackers disrupted medical technology giant Stryker, highlighting how geopolitical conflict can now spill directly into hospitals, businesses and supply chains across the connected global economy.
Singtel executives fronted a Senate inquiry, categorically denying explosive allegations that a secret ransom was paid to hackers following the massive 2022 Optus data breach that exposed personal information of 9.8 million Australians, amid ongoing inquiry into the telco's operational failures.
Joint advisory by Australian, New Zealand, and Tongan cyber authorities warns of rising INC Ransom attacks on critical infrastructure. The RaaS group has breached 11 Australian organisations, mainly in healthcare and professional services.
Microsoft’s March 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes 83 flaws, including three critical Office vulnerabilities exploitable through the Preview Pane that allow code execution without opening files, and a Copilot-linked Excel bug that could leak data. The ACSC urges immediate patching under the Essential Eight.
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