Council Fights Back Against Hackers in Chatroom

0:00It's March 23rd. Welcome in. This is Sydney News Today, where local news meets AI. A council in Western Sydney is reaching out to anonymous hackers through a chat room using Dropbox links after a serious data breach hit their systems. In October 2025, Fairfield Council discovered its service have been broken into, with hackers encrypting files and stealing sensitive. Information. They left a ransom note demanding payment and contact only via that specific online room while threatening to release the data. The council quickly sued the unknown attackers and got court approval to deliver legal documents right into the hackers' chat room. So far, officials say no data misuse has shown up and they've ramped up monitoring to stay ahead of any leaks. This breach highlights bigger troubles for local governments, battling cyber threats, as a recent state audit pointed out weak spots in risk management and limited oversight of security spending. Meanwhile, other councils are feeling the pinch, too, with skyrocketing protection costs,

1:00straining budgets cap for decades, leaving communities more, exposed to these growing dangers.