An Australia-based maximum-security prison, Port Phillip Prison, had been attacked by unidentified threat actors demanding a ransom to drop the institution’s servers from the security breach. The cyberattack on Port Phillip Prison had forced its operators to suspend visiting hours while they were undergoing an investigation.
Located at Truganina, Victoria in Australia, the prison institution had suffered at the hands of an anonymous hacker who intruded and encrypted its online network and demanded a ransom in exchange for data restoration. Due to the attack, in-person and remote visits were temporarily put off to the prison’s inmates.
Furthermore, the institution cooperated with the Victoria Police team and a cyber incident response group to probe the security breach deeper while keeping all affected parties safe from the security breach. During the incident analysis, the prison establishment’s management and operators also took measures to improve security.
While the security breach on Port Phillip Prison is yet to be under control, its management disallowed phone access except for authorised personnel such as social workers, police, and lawyers.
Fortunately, a representative of Port Phillip Prison confirmed that its inmates and staff were unaffected by the cyberattack. The prison institution added that only the most urgent welfare concerns would be accepted as long as the investigation of the incident was not yet done, and they said to be fixing the issues as soon as possible.
From the latest count, the maximum-security prison institution is the largest in Victoria, accommodating about 1,087 inmates at a time. The institution also had 13 detainee units with all the basic living essentials that a jailed inmate could have, such as a shower, a bed, and storage shelves.
The identity of the security breach suspect and some other vital details about the incident have yet to be disclosed by Port Phillip Prison. This cyberattack could be the first that struck the prison institution.
