Summary:
On August 8, 2024, Evolution Mining, a prominent Australian gold mining firm, experienced a ransomware attack that impacted its IT systems. The company has engaged external cyber forensic experts to investigate the incident, which is currently believed to be contained. While the attack disrupted IT operations, it is not anticipated to significantly impact overall mining operations. This alludes that there will be no interruptions because the adversary either did not encrypt any Evolution systems or did not compromise any production-critical workstations. Evolution Mining has reported the incident to the Australian Cyber Security Centre. Evolution Mining is one of Australia's largest gold producers. In 2023, it produced over 650,000 ounces of gold and 1.8 million tonnes of copper, contributing $1.6 billion to the Australian economy and Canada, with whom Evolution Mining also conducts business. As of this time, no known ransomware groups have assumed responsibility for the attack at Evolution Mining. Evolution Mining has not stated whether sensitive data was stolen as a result of this cyberattack yet.

Security Officer Comments:
The ransomware attack targeting Evolution Mining highlights the persistent threat posed by cybercriminals to critical infrastructure organizations. Despite the company's assertion of minimal operational impact, the incident underscores the potential for significant disruptions in the mining sector. The lack of detailed information regarding the attack's nature, including the ransomware group responsible and the extent of data exfiltration, raises potential concerns about the incident's true scope.

Australia's increasing cyberattack surface, exacerbated by its growing geopolitical significance and understaffed cybersecurity industry, demands an increase in the robustness of cybersecurity measures. As a critical manufacturing subsector, the mining industry must prioritize incident response planning, threat intelligence, and employee cybersecurity awareness to combat ever-improving ransomware attacks. Ransomware initial access is often facilitated via spearphishing attacks, further emphasizing the importance of employee awareness training for prevention. While Evolution Mining's containment efforts are commendable, the broader implications of this attack for the Australian critical infrastructure landscape necessitate a more comprehensive industry-wide response that emphasizes responsible disclosure, especially regarding the scope of the incident.

Suggested Corrections:
Backup your data, system images, and configurations, regularly test them, and keep the backups offline: Ensure that backups are regularly tested and that they are not connected to the business network, as many ransomware variants try to find and encrypt or delete accessible backups. Maintaining current backups offline is critical because if your network data is encrypted with ransomware, your organization can restore systems.

Update and patch systems promptly: This includes maintaining the security of operating systems, applications, and firmware in a timely manner. Consider using a centralized patch management system; use a risk-based assessment strategy to drive your patch management program.

Test your incident response plan: There's nothing that shows the gaps in plans more than testing them. Run through some core questions and use those to build an incident response plan: Are you able to sustain business operations without access to certain systems? For how long? Would you turn off your manufacturing operations if business systems such as billing were offline?

Check Your Security Team's Work: Use a 3rd party pen tester to test the security of your systems and your ability to defend against a sophisticated attack. Many ransomware criminals are aggressive and sophisticated and will find the equivalent of unlocked doors.

Segment your networks: There's been a recent shift in ransomware attacks – from stealing data to disrupting operations. It's critically important that your corporate business functions and manufacturing/production operations are separated and that you carefully filter and limit internet access to operational networks, identify links between these networks and develop workarounds or manual controls to ensure ICS networks can be isolated and continue operating if your corporate network is compromised. Regularly test contingency plans such as manual controls so that safety critical functions can be maintained during a cyber incident.

Train employees: Email remains the most vulnerable attack vector for organizations. Users should be trained how to avoid and spot phishing emails. Multi Factor authentication can help prevent malicious access to sensitive services.

Link(s):
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/australian-gold-producer-evolution-mining-hit-by-ransomware/

https://www.reuters.com/technology/...evolution-flags-ransomware-attack-2024-08-12/

PDF: https://evolutionmining.com.au/storage/2024/08/2759355-Cyber-Security-Incident.pdf