Australian consumer finance firm refuses to pay ransomware demand

Latitude Financial, an Australian consumer finance firm, has said that it will refuse to pay a ransomware fee after being attacked last month.

In a statement published on Tuesday, the firm said that its stance is "consistent with the position of the Australian government" and that paying the fee would "be detrimental to our customers and cause harm to the broader community by encouraging further criminal attacks."

The company last month confirmed that hackers had stolen nearly 8 million drivers licence numbers from customers in Australia and New Zealand in what was one of the country’s biggest confirmed data breaches. The company said that it does not believe that paying a ransom will result in the return or destruction of the stolen information.

Latitude Financial, which provides consumer finance services to retailers including Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi, has taken its platforms offline in the period since the attack.

In a statement, the company said that it is in the process of contacting all affected customers, past and present, and that it will complete its support and remediation processes “as quickly as we can.”

Commenting on the update, Latitude Financial chief executive officer Bob Belan said: "Latitude will not pay a ransom to criminals. Based on the evidence and advice, there is simply no guarantee that doing so would result in any customer data being destroyed and it would only encourage further extortion attempts on Australian and New Zealand businesses in the future.

"I apologise personally and sincerely for the distress that this cyber-attack has caused and I hope that in time we are able to earn back the confidence of our customers."

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


The future-ready CFO: Driving strategic growth and innovation
This National Technology News webinar sponsored by Sage will explore how CFOs can leverage their unique blend of financial acumen, technological savvy, and strategic mindset to foster cross-functional collaboration and shape overall company direction. Attendees will gain insights into breaking down operational silos, aligning goals across departments like IT, operations, HR, and marketing, and utilising technology to enable real-time data sharing and visibility.

The corporate roadmap to payment excellence: Keeping pace with emerging trends to maximise growth opportunities
In today's rapidly evolving finance and accounting landscape, one of the biggest challenges organisations face is attracting and retaining top talent. As automation and AI revolutionise the profession, finance teams require new skillsets centred on analysis, collaboration, and strategic thinking to drive sustainable competitive advantage.