UK, US, Australia sanction Russian cyber hacker

The UK, US and Australia have put sanctions on a Russia-based cyber hacker.

The coordinated action is intended to crack down on international cyber crime.

Aleksandr Ermakov who has been identified by the Australian Signals Directorate and Australian Federal Police along with international partners as a key actor in the Australia Medibank cyber attack in 2022.

The attack is considered one of the worst cyber incidents in Australian history. 9.7 million customers’ records, containing medical and personal data, and data on over 480,000 health claims were leaked on the dark web.

Ermakov will be subject to a series of asset freezes and travel bans.  

Sanctions Minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: "We stand with our allies in Australia and the US and will continue to hold cyber hackers to account for damaging cyber attacks designed to undermine global democracies.   

"These cynical and reckless attacks cause real damage to people’s lives and livelihoods. We must work together to call out and combat these malicious attacks."