Australian consumer lender Latitude Financial has received a ransom demand from the criminals behind a cyber attack last month that lifted 14 million customer records, including drivers licences, passports and financial statements
The firm has responded defiantly to the demands, saying that it will not pay a ransom, a position that is in line with Australian government policies.
Latitude Financial CEO Bob Belan says: "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"
The consumer lender, which offers personal loans and credit to customers, first disclosed it was hacked in mid-March. It has only just begun to restore services after initially shutting down systems to contain the attack.
"Regular business operations are being restored, with Latitude's primary Customer Contact Centre back online and operating at full capacity," states the firm. "We will respond to all customer enquiries as a priority. Customers can also access services via the Latitude website and mobile app. New customer originations have also recommenced."