Evolution Mining hit by cyberattack, assailant unknown

Evolution Mining, an Australian gold mining company, was the victim of a targeted ransomware attack. As of yet, nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In a press release the company states it became aware of the incident on August 8. That’s when IT employees discovered a ransomware attack impacted the company’s computer systems.

To hinder the impact of the attack, the mining company has been working with external cyber forensic experts. The company is convinced the incident is now contained.

“The incident has been proactively managed with a focus on protecting the health, safety and privacy of people, together with the company’s systems and data,” Evolution Mining says. It anticipates that the ransomware attack has no material impact on its business operations.

The attack has been reported to the Australian Cyber Security Centre. Evolution Mining however doesn’t say whether the threat actor stole personal information or other sensitive company data. As of writing, the attack hasn’t been claimed by any hacking groups.

Evolution Mining has been around since November 2011 and has become one of Australia’s largest gold producers. The company operates in six mines in Australia, but also one in Red Lake, Canada. In 2023, Evolution Mining produced over 650,000 ounces of gold and 1.8 million tonnes of copper.

Evolution Mining isn’t the first Australian mining company that’s been targeted by hackers. Last June, Northern Minerals disclosed a data breach after stolen data was leaked on the dark web. The exfiltrated data included corporate, operational and financial information, personal information of current and former staff members, and shareholder information.

The data breach was claimed by the BianLian ransomware operation, which has been active since this year.

The ransomware attack follows after a series of high-profile cyberattacks in Australia, including telecom company Optus, health insurance company Medibank, and e-script provider MediSecure.