Analysis-In Australia, a hacking frenzy spurred by an undersized cybersecurity workforce

FILE PHOTO: A woman uses her mobile phone as she walks past in front of an Optus shop in Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz/File Photo

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A swathe of hacks on some of Australia's biggest companies has made the country a target for copycat attacks just as a skills shortage leaves an understaffed, overworked cybersecurity workforce ill-equipped to stop it, technology experts said.

As Monday saw the disclosure of another potential breach of sensitive data - a ransomware attack on a communication platform for military personnel - cybersecurity experts put a wave of high-profile breaches down to a common factor: human error.