Australian political parties hit by ransomware attack exposing supporter data
Take action: Most countries do not have a strict regulation of how political parties handle personal data, and are usually excluded from most requirements of privacy laws. Which is shameful, since there is no accountability for any abuse or breach of data. A perfect example of politicians being "do as I say, don't do as I do"
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The United Australia Party and Trumpet of Patriots, political parties operated by Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer, were hit by a ransomware attack on June 23, 2025
The breach was reported to supporters via email on July 17, 2025, and posted on both parties' websites nearly a month after the attack was discovered. The compromised data potentially includes:
- Email addresses and phone numbers
- Identity records
- Banking records and financial information
- Employment history
- Email communications and attachments
- Documents created or held electronically by the parties
- Confidential documents provided under confidentiality arrangements
The parties have not disclosed the exact number of affected individuals, stating it is "impracticable to notify individuals" and that they "do not keep a record of all individuals who were on the server."
The parties acknowledged they "do not know comprehensively what information of yours was on the server but you should assume that any information you have provided would have been stored on the server."
The political parties claim to have secured their systems and restored data from backup tapes. They reported the incident to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).
This incident occurred during a period when Palmer's parties were particularly active, having spent an estimated $60 million on advertising during the federal election campaign and sending millions of unsolicited text messages to Australians.
