Hack to court
Taking hackers to court has become a standard part of the cyber response toolkit since law firm HWL Ebsworth was attacked in 2023. But for those still paying ransoms, the price has only risen.
When Qantas and others told cyber criminals to go jump in the lake this week — after going to court to protect the data of customers — they were following the playbook of law firm HWL Ebsworth (HWLE) and its feisty late leader, Juan Martinez.
In April 2023, the Black Cat group infiltrated HWLE’s servers and downloaded 4.1 terabytes of data. The hackers demanded a ransom of about $7 million, threatening to release the data on the dark web if their demand wasn’t met.
The stakes were high for HWLE and Martinez. When he became managing partner of Home Wilkinson Lowry in 1996, it was a one-office firm with just 40 staff.
By 2023, it had 280-plus partners and counted most of the ASX top 50 companies, along with 65 federal and state government agencies and departments — including Home Affairs and Defence — among its clients.
