Simon Green Warns About Escalating Cyberattacks Following The Australian Levitas Capital Hack

Simon Green, the CEO of Palo Alto Networks JAPAC, stated that cyberattacks are a major threat to the digital transformation of businesses in the Australian economy, as well as global. This year, hackers have stolen more than $ 100 million in DeFi projects alone.

In an online interview with Skynews Australia, Green Addressed the dangers of the escalating amount of cyberattacks, in several companies related to fintech and finance in general — especially following this last week’s attack on the Sydney-based hedge fund Levitas Capital.

As more Australian businesses are forced to go digital, the growth of cyberattacks is becoming a major concern. Green believes that during the pandemic, these attacks have increased.

A rapid increase in cyber threats has been seen, particularly during the pandemic. The environment has changed dramatically, particularly over the last nine months. People are now sitting in their homes and spending a lot of time on digital means. Whether it is in personal or business means, cyber threat is becoming an increasingly large problem.

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Stated Green for Skynews Australia

Levitas Capital, Victim of a Hack Spree

A fake Zoom invite link shut down the Australian hedge fund Levitas Capital, and cost it almost US$ 8,7 million in losses after a hacker sent fake invoices on behalf of the firm Australian Catholic Super — their major client, to withdraw its funds.

Levitas Capital is the latest victim of a cybercrime spree that affected almost 2000 other Australian businesses with similar hacks this year. This prompted an ongoing investigation by the Federal Police called “Operation Dolos”.

Fintech and Finance Platforms Targeted by Hackers

A lot of money is flying into the world of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), and hackers are taking advantage of the weak points of DeFi projects, using scams like flash loans through Smart Contracts.

This way, hackers have stolen more than US$ 100 million from several DeFi platforms this year alone. The most recent one is Pickle Finance — the cybercriminals hacked its protocol for US$ 19,7 million worth in DAI Stablecoin — and cybersecurity incidents cost Australian businesses around US$ 29 billion each year.