Australia's Copyright Agency investigates cyber incident

Australia's copyright collection agency is investigating a suspected cyber attack that has disrupted services for its more than 37,000 members.

The Copyright Agency, which distributes royalties to authors, photographers and other creators for the reuse of their text and images, notified members of the incident on Friday.

“Copyright Agency has experienced a cyber incident that has led to an interruption of our normal services,” the not-for-profit wrote in a brief note to members.

“We are still at the earliest stages of investigating the incident and we are unable to provide any details of the investigation at this time.

“As a precaution, we have notified the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, and we are working with the relevant law enforcement bodies and Australian Cyber Security Centre.”

While it is not clear what was accessed in the incident, member accounts contain contact information and bank account details.

The Copyright Agency has apologised for the disruption, with work underway to restore access to services.

“We are working to restore our systems so that we can return to normal operations as quickly as possible,” it said.