Data breach costs Latitude Financial nearly $50M

SecurityWeek reports that major Australian financial services firm Latitude Financial has disclosed spending nearly $50 million for a widespread ransomware attack earlier this year that has impacted almost 7.9 million individuals in Australia and New Zealand. While the total spending was lower than the initial estimate of about $70 million, Latitude Financial said in its financial report for the first six months of 2023 that different components of its business were adversely impacted by the cyberattack, which has led to the compromise of data, including contact information, account statements, and driver's license and passport copies and numbers, as well as income and expense details. Threat actors behind the attack have not been named by the company that previously refused to pay any ransom in relation to the incident, which has prompted not only a lawsuit against Latitude but also an ongoing debate regarding the need to prohibit ransomware payments in Australia.