Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Paterson. It won't surprise Senator Paterson that we're not going to be revealing the data that appears to have been hacked by Russian hackers. I'm actually a little surprised that Senator Paterson would expect that we would do such a thing. But, certainly, the Australian government is aware of a cyber incident impacting HWL Ebsworth.

On 1 May 2023, HWL Ebsworth reported a cyber incident involving ransomware and claims of data exfiltration and publication to the data web. On 8 May 2023, HWL Ebsworth provided initial notification to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme. On 9 June 2023, HWL Ebsworth became aware that a threat actor had claimed to have published at least 1.4 terabytes of exfiltrated data on the dark web.

The government continues to actively engage HWL Ebsworth as it investigates the extent of the breach, including impacts on Commonwealth information. HWL Ebsworth has begun notifying impacted clients regarding their information identified as compromised as part of this breach. This process remains ongoing and will take time to complete due to the scale of the impacted data.

The government is continuing to work with HWL Ebsworth to understand and manage potential consequences of the publication of the data. Of course, specific inquiries relating to this incident should be directed to HWL Ebsworth. I am aware that the firm is working with clients and the OAIC to meet relevant obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 and ensure that affected individuals are notified as soon as possible.