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AAP
AAP
Technology
Rachael Ward

Tasmanian premier wary of revealing too much about hack

The Tasmanian government is reluctant to reveal details of a cyber attack. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

The number of Tasmanians impacted by a cyber attack remains unknown with the state government wary of releasing information that could be used by hackers.

Some 16,000 financial statements and invoices from the education department were released on the dark web late last week.

The documents include personal information such as names and addresses and were gained through a hack on third-party file transfer service GoAnywhere MFT.

The state government says more than 145,600 emails have been sent to people who could have been impacted by the data breach, in addition to 2500 letters and almost 400 phone calls.

No further information was released by hackers over the long weekend and no ransom has been received, however the government has been advised not to give in if the criminals demand payment.

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said no money had been taken from victims' bank accounts but stopped short of releasing further details.

"It's not about not being open and transparent, of course, I'm here now answering questions," Mr Rockliff told reporters on Tuesday.

"It's about ensuring we have a very measured response so we don't play into the hands of criminal hackers."

Opposition frontbencher Jen Butler hit out at what she described as "serious mismanagement" after it it was revealed vocational education provider TasTAFE was caught up in the breach.

Ms Butler said she knew of someone who studied at TAFE eight years ago who was told his personal details were at risk.

"The information sent to him and others was not encrypted or password protected, potentially meaning his information could be compromised again," she said.

"Labor has asked on numerous occasions how widespread the government's use of GoAnywhere MFT was, but all we've received is radio silence."

Last week, Technology Minister Madeleine Ogilvie said the state was not out of the woods and warned further information could be leaked.

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