Second Australian rare earths producer suffers cyber attack

Iluka Resources Ltd. has become the second Australian rare earths miner to suffer a cyber attack in recent months, although the hackers weren’t able to penetrate its cybersecurity protections.

The denial-of-service attack was intended to disrupt Iluka’s external website, according to a statement from the company. However, there was “no infiltration of our internal systems and hence no loss of data or privacy concerns,” the company said.

The West Australian newspaper first reported the attack earlier Thursday.

Last week, fellow Australian rare earths producer Northern Minerals Ltd. said some of its data had been released onto the “dark web” months after the firm detected a breach of its cybersecurity protections.

The data “included corporate, operational and financial information and some details relating to current and former personnel and some shareholder information,” Northern Minerals said at the time.

Earlier this month, Australia ordered a Chinese-linked fund and its associates to sell their stakes in Northern Minerals, part of an effort by US allies to counter China’s dominance of critical minerals.

(By Paul-Alain Hunt)