A man has been charged with hacking Australia’s largest online court-filing system, but authorities do not believe the cyber crime has compromised any personal data.
The NSW JusticeLink allows lawyers, police and businesses to upload sworn statements, identity information and other files for the 400,000-plus court cases filed each year.
The state government revealed in March an account had used automation to download more than 9,000 files before being booted from the system, with experts moving quickly to shut down the account.
“NSW police cybercrime squad detectives have laid charges in relation to last month’s serious data breach involving the Department of Communities and Justice,” police minister, Yasmin Catley, said late on Wednesday.
A 38-year-old man was arrested in Maroubra in Sydney’s south-east, with officers seizing two laptops, police said.
He was charged with accessing or modifying restricted data held in computer, as well as use of carriage service to cause harm.
The files were accessed over a two-month period between late January and late March.
Acting attorney-general, Ron Hoenig, assured NSW residents “the matter is now contained and the system is stable”.
He said no personal information had been detected online or on the dark web and no one protected by apprehended violence orders were identified as being at increased risk of harm.
Justice department officials are said to have blocked the intruder’s account almost immediately after detecting the incident and spent days analysing the extent of the unlawful access before police were notified.
The man is due to appear at Waverley court on Thursday.
