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Australian energy retailer Origin is investigating a potential cybersecurity incident following reports of a data leak. Experts warn that attacks on critical infrastructure like power companies pose significant risks to public safety.
Why it matters
Cyberattacks on essential services highlight the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and the growing trend of extortion-based data breaches.
Cybersecurity experts weigh in on 'potential' Origin breach E By Emilia Terzon
I've just been calling around cybersecurity experts that previously helped us cover data breaches on major companies like Optus, Qantas and Medibank.
Today, the scrutiny is on Origin, as the gas and electricity retailer investigates a "potential" cybersecurity incident.
Professor of Cyber Security at UNSW, Richard Buckland, says a breach on a power company would be especially worrying because they manage critical infrastructure.
In fact, there is a specific law about how 11 "critical" industries, including energy, respond to cybersecurity incidents.
"How important is Origin taking security?" Professor Buckland asks, adding that a successful cybersecurity attack on a energy company could be a "canary in the coalmine".
"If an energy company is hacked they could cut off people's power in winter or black things out," he warns.
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