Defence shipbuilder Austal hit with data breach and extortion attempt

Attacker tried to sell certain materials on the internet but shipbuilder insists there is no evidence of theft of national security information

Defence shipbuilder Austal's Australian business has been hit with a data breach and extortion attempt but insists there is no evidence of theft of national security information.

Some staff email addresses and mobile phone numbers were accessed in the breach. The attacker tried to sell certain materials on the internet and engage in extortion. However, Austal said the company does not intend to respond to such threats.