Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

Weather bureau hit by two Bitcoin scams

The Bureau of Meteorology has been struck by two scandals involving Bitcoin this year, but officials say they're unrelated.

Australia Weather Forecast
Australia Weather Forecast. Source: Supplied

Two scandals linking the Australian weather bureau to cryptocurrency are being claimed as coincidental.

An advertising company remains suspended by the Bureau of Meteorology after ads linking to a scam article about Bitcoin appeared on the site in January and February.

The organisation's Melbourne offices were raided by federal police later in February over allegations two employees had been using the bureau's powerful computers to mine cryptocurrencies.

BoM director Andrew Johnson told a Senate hearing on Monday there was "no connection whatsoever" between the two events.

The probe into data mining had been underway for a considerable time before the Australian Federal Police made the decision to act in February, he said.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

But he was unable to answer questions from Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff about the progress of that investigation.

Dr Johnson did confirm the advertising agency responsible for the fraudulent ads in January and February remains blacklisted because of concerns about its ability to block activity.

The ads linked to a news story about Tesla boss Elon Musk on a fake CNN look-alike website which then linked users to scam Bitcoin sites.

Dr Johnson said it was a constant battle against those with malicious intent but the bureau used a four-stage review policy used to monitor ads from a second organisation.

Advertising on the site brings in around $4 million annually.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world