‘Wake-up call’ as multiple Australian businesses fall victim to global cyber attack

At least eight Australian businesses have been impacted by a global cyber attack, but the country appears to have avoided the worst.

Network cables are seen going into a server in an office building in Washington, DC on May 13, 2017. Source: AFP

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has urged Australians to update their Windows operating systems in the wake of a global cyber attack.

The so-called Wanna Cry ransomware attack knocked out major private companies and government infrastructure in Europe on Friday evening.

But it is only estimated to have impacted at least eight businesses in Australia.

"It was early morning Saturday for us, and that meant the bulk of us weren't at our keyboards,” the prime minister’s cyber security adviser Alastair MacGibbon said.

“We weren't able to ingest the threat vector, which was probably an email that contained this malicious code in it, or a link to malicious code, and as a consequence we were probably better protected than our European cousins."

The government is working with the affected businesses to resolve the issue.

More than 200,000 systems in 150 countries have reportedly been affected, including British hospitals and Germany's national railway.

"At this stage we haven't seen the impact that they have seen in the United Kingdom, for example," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said.

The minister assisting the PM on cyber security, Dan Tehan, told the ABC ransomware attacks cost the Australian economy an estimated $1 billion every year.

He said this latest attack was a reminder of the importance of good digital hygiene.

"I think it is a real wake-up call for all of us,” Mr Tehan said.

“My hope is what it will lead to is more urgency and more focus from departmental and agency heads at the government level, from boardrooms at the business level and from individuals and families - of the need to make sure you're doing everything you can to keep yourselves cyber-secure."

The government is advising Australians to back up their data and update Windows operating systems.

Ransomwear attacks work by locking the computer and encrypting all the data. Users are then asked to pay the attackers a "ransom" to regain control, but Mr MacGibbon said businesses were better off relying on their backups if they have them.

“We clearly don't advocate paying criminals, because we don't do it offline and we shouldn’t be doing it online, and that's the best advice I can give,” he said.

The ransomware attack struck British National Health Service organisations, along with computer networks of companies and municipalities in dozens of other countries.

A number of hospitals in England and Scotland were forced to cancel procedures after dozens of NHS systems were brought down in Friday's attack.

Spanish telco giant Telefonica and US delivery service FedEx were among the businesses affected.

-With AAP