Superannuation fund NGS Super hit by cyber attack, 'limited data' taken from its system

Superannuation fund NGS Super has confirmed it was hit by a cyber attack earlier this month which resulted in "some limited data" being taken from its system.

In an email to its members on Monday afternoon, the superannuation fund said it became aware that a cyber attacker had gained access to its corporate IT system on March 17.

The fund said it "immediately" shut down its network after it detected the unusual activity and launched several cybersecurity protocols, including enhanced network monitoring, which contained the incident.

But NGS Super confirmed a small amount of personal data was taken in the attack.

"Investigations to date have revealed that some limited data was taken from our system during the attack," the fund said in a statement.

"We will be issuing further communications to members whose information has been impacted by the incident."

NGS Super said the incident has not impacted the superannuation savings of its members, which "have been secure at all times".

"We would like to emphasise that NGS takes cyber security and privacy of all personal information seriously," NGS said.

"We sincerely apologise this has happened. You can be assured we remain highly alert and continue to monitor our systems for signs of any suspicious activity.

"We are taking all reasonable steps to prevent this from happening again. We are continuing to work with cyber security experts, regulators and stakeholders to limit the impact of this incident and mitigate risk.

NGS Super describes itself as "the leading Industry SuperFund for those in the independent and community sectors" but is open to the public, and has an estimated 112,000 members.

Its 2021-22 annual report said the fund was used by more than 16,000 employers.

NGS has not disclosed how many of its members had data stolen in the attack, or the type of data that was taken.

The super fund has also not said who it believes to be responsible for the attack.

Some members have criticised NGS on social media for not advising of the cyber attack until 10 days after it occurred, but a spokeswoman for NGS Super told the ABC the reason for the delay was to ensure a thorough investigation was completed.

NGS has also confirmed to the ABC that no ransom was demanded.

NGS's disclosure of the cyber attack comes after Crown Resorts stated it was investigating a potential data breach, and Latitude Financial confirmed that the data of millions of past and present customers was stolen in a cyber attack on March 16 — a day before NGS's IT systems were breached by hackers.

It follows a number of cyber security breaches in recent months, including Rio Tinto, Medibank and Optus.

NGS Super members are encouraged to contact IDCARE, a not-for-profit organisation designed to assist victims of cyber attacks, for assistance.