Australian rare earths miner hit by cybersecurity breach

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

“The exfiltrated data included corporate, operational and financial information and some details relating to current and former personnel and some shareholder information,” Northern Minerals said in a company filing on Tuesday.

The statement comes just a day after Australia’s government ordered China-affiliated investors to sell their shares in Northern Minerals, citing the need to protect national interest.

The firm said it had became aware of a security breach in March 2024. It was notified on Tuesday that some of the stolen information was now on the dark web, a hard-to-access part of the internet where illegal material often circulates.

Northern Minerals has informed Australian authorities about the theft, the company said in the filing.