Overview

• Hackers compromised a contractor’s access to the Liberal Party’s Facebook and Instagram accounts around midnight, posting explicit images briefly.
• The party swiftly removed the unauthorised content within ten minutes of it going live and issued an apology for any offence caused.
• Officials notified the Australian Cyber Security Centre and Meta’s security teams overnight to launch a formal investigation of the breach.
• The incident occurred hours after Sussan Ley’s first major address as opposition leader, in which she pledged to boost women’s representation and entertain quotas for preselection.
• Despite the cyberattack, the party has initiated an internal probe while advancing its rebranding plan to increase the number of Liberal women in federal parliament.