Governing body of cricket in Australia says it was hit by a cyber attack after a hacker demanded a ransom of $1 million.

The governing body of cricket in Australia, Cricket Australia, has disclosed that the organization suffered a data breach as a result of an attack by the ALPHV/Blackcat ransomware gang, which has demanded the organization pay a ransom of $1 million. The attack was revealed by Cricket Australia when the organization said that sensitive information had been compromised as a result of an attack, but did not reveal the nature of the attack. <br><br><br>The Information was revealed by the hackers themselves, and was then confirmed by Cricket Australia, which said that the breach was caused by a previous attack by the ALPHV/Blackcat hackers. They have demanded a ransom in cryptocurrency. <br><br><br>In a statement, Cricket Australia said that an investigation is now underway, and the breach of information is currently being assessed. The organization is yet to confirm whether the breach was of information of Cricket Australia’s employees or fans, and what type of information was accessed by the hackers. <br><br><br>"Cricket Australia is aware of a recent data breach of sensitive employee information. An investigation is currently underway to assess the extent of the breach," a Cricket Australia spokesperson said.<br><br><br>"We are working alongside the relevant authorities to address the breach and determine the extent of any information accessed. We take the privacy and security of our community seriously and are working to notify and support individuals who may have been impacted." <br><br><br>Cricket Australia added that it is taking additional measures to strengthen the security of its internal systems. <br><br><br>"We are working actively to prevent such a breach from happening again, and to address the breach and to determine the extent of any information accessed," the spokesperson added. <br><br><br>Cricket Australia added that it is taking additional measures to strengthen the security of its internal systems. <br><br><br>The Blackcat ransomware gang has been identified as one of the most prolific ransomware gangs in the world, and has been responsible for several high profile attacks. In some cases, the hackers have stolen sensitive information to be used as a bargaining tool to have a ransom paid to them. <br><br><br>Cricket Australia has not confirmed if it intends to pay the ransom. <br><br><br>"We are aware that an entity claiming to have information from Cricket Australia is demanding a ransom. However, we will not be commenting on negotiations with cyber criminals and we will not be paying the ransom," Cricket Australia said. <br><br><br>The attack on Cricket Australia is the second time in the last six months that the organization has suffered a data breach. The first breach took place in July and was due to the hacking of Cricket Australia’s ticketing service provider. <br><br><br>The Blackcat ransomware gang has been responsible for several high-profile attacks on Australian organizations, including the attack on Medibank and Optus. In both instances, the attackers stole sensitive customer information, including addresses and passport numbers. <br><br><br>In the case of Optus, the attackers first demanded a ransom be paid to them. When Optus refused to comply with the attackers demands, the attackers began leaking the sensitive information of Australian citizens. <br><br><br>Unlike Cricket Australia, Optus was criticized for its approach to the breach and for a lack of transparency with regards to disclosing the attack and the extent of the breach. <br><br><br>Optus also faced criticism after it emerged that the breach was caused by an error by the provider. The attackers managed to breach Optus systems after they gained unauthorized access to an API key. <br><br><br>Optus subsequently apologised for the breach and the approach to disclosing the attack. <br><br><br>The breach by Cricket Australia is now the subject of an investigation by the Australian Cyber Security Centre and by the Office of the Australian Information Commission.