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Sydney woman charged after federal MP targeted in alleged cyber attack

A 34-year-old woman has been charged in court for allegedly spamming a federal MP with over 32,000 emails over a 24-hour period.

user icon Daniel Croft
Fri, 03 Mar 2023
Sydney woman charged after federal MP targeted in alleged cyber attack
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The Werrington woman was arrested by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on 1 March and appeared in Penrith Local Court the next day.

According to the AFP, police will allege that the woman sent 32,397 emails over 24 hours. This act disrupted workers in the MP’s office, preventing people from contacting it and slowing operations.

“The volume of the emails impaired workers from operating IT systems and stopped members of the public from making contact with the office,” said an AFP spokesperson.

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The woman has been charged with one count of committing unauthorised impairment of electronic communication. The charge could see her in prison for up to 10 years.

While she has been released on bail, the investigation is ongoing and “further charges have not been ruled out”.

In addition, the woman will have to adhere to strict bail conditions. She is not allowed to possess any more than a single phone or laptop, cannot access any social media, and was required to provide a federal agent with passwords and PIN codes.

She is also not allowed to attempt to contact, communicate with, or approach the Attorney-General’s Department in any way other than through a legal representative.

The woman’s motives for the attack are currently unknown.

Daniel Croft

Daniel Croft

Born in the heart of Western Sydney, Daniel Croft is a passionate journalist with an understanding for and experience writing in the technology space. Having studied at Macquarie University, he joined Momentum Media in 2022, writing across a number of publications including Australian Aviation, Cyber Security Connect and Defence Connect. Outside of writing, Daniel has a keen interest in music, and spends his time playing in bands around Sydney.

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