A 23-year-old IT contractor working at the Australian National Maritime Museum has been arrested and charged by federal police for allegedly accessing the museum’s accounting system and changing bank account details to his own.
The fraud was reportedly detected by the museum in November last year, prompting an investigation by independent forensic experts. The alleged perpetrator is also accused of unlawfully obtaining financial details of individuals and businesses, which he used to make unauthorised purchases.
The Australian Federal Police’s cybercrime operations investigators have linked the man to unauthorised access of several systems and servers. The police raided the suspect’s home and seized a laptop, hard drives and a mobile phone for forensic analysis.
The police estimate the total value of money allegedly diverted in this matter to be $90,000, and the motive for the alleged fraud is believed to be greed. The police warn that trusted insiders remain a real threat to the Australian community.