The NSW government declared a significant data breach over the weekend, which it says involved alleged data transfer by a staff member. An arrest has since been made.
In a statement released today (Tuesday, 21 April), the state government said that an NSW Treasury staff member was involved in the incident, which was discovered when a suspected data transfer to an outside party was detected.
“Internal security monitoring detected a suspected transfer to an external server of a substantial cache of documents containing confidential commercial and financial information. The files cover multiple NSW government departments and projects,” the statement said.
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An investigation was launched with NSW Police Strike Force Civic. As a result of the investigation, a 45-year-old NSW Treasury official was arrested after police executed a search warrant at a Homebush West home, where electronic devices were seized, according to a statement by NSW Police.
The individual allegedly accessed and downloaded over 5,600 sensitive documents and was charged with accessing or modifying restricted data. They were granted conditional bail and are to face Downing Centre Local Court on 3 June.
“While the police are continuing their investigation, they believe all the alleged stolen data has been located, is now secure, and there was no external compromise to the agency’s system,” the statement said.
“The NSW chief cyber security officer is currently coordinating the government’s whole-of-agency response, as per the state’s cyber security plan.
“There is no current impact to any NSW government service.”
This is an ongoing story. Cyber Daily will provide more information as the incident develops.
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Daniel Croft
Born in the heart of Western Sydney, Daniel Croft is a passionate journalist with an understanding for and experience writing in the technology space. Having studied at Macquarie University, he joined Momentum Media in 2022, writing across a number of publications including Australian Aviation, Cyber Security Connect and Defence Connect. Outside of writing, Daniel has a keen interest in music, and spends his time playing in bands around Sydney.
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