David Spear steps down after five years.

 

David Loxton, principal of Pencraft Office National (Brisbane), has been appointed interim chairman of dealer group Office National following the resignation of chairman David Spear (pictured), effective 23 June.

 

In a message to members obtained by Office Products News, Spear stated:

 

“As a Director and board Member, there are occasions when Boards will make decisions that you might not agree with. This can happen and is not unusual, however depending on the decision, the severity or impact of such a decision, each Director must determine if they still can align with the Board on that decision, to ensure the messaging to shareholders, members etc comes from the Board as a position of unity and solidarity.”

 

In thanking Office National management for its support over the past five years, Spear said: “To the remaining directors, David Loxton (interim chairman), Alok Jain (Paperchase Office National) and Paul-Thomas Clarke (Coffs Coast Office National), I wish you good luck in delivering your vision for the company through the next phase of its evolution.”

 

Spear added that the recent loss of the other independent director David Martin “also impacted” on his decision (to resign).

 

Spear is a partner and director of VUCA Pty Ltd, professional company director and governance consultant. His current board portfolio includes unlisted public companies, not-for-profits and local government entities. 

 

Office National victim of ransomware attack

 

The Qilin ransomware operation has listed Office National as a victim on its darknet leak site, according to a report in Cyber Daily.

 

In a post dated 30 May, Qilin already published five documents to prove the hack’s success. The documents include a franchisee agreement form with multiple signatures, insurance documents, a supplier information form with banking details, and an extract from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) business database.

 

The documents all appear to be from a single Queensland franchise of the chain, suggesting that possibly just that store has fallen victim to a ransomware attack. Qilin has not yet shared any details regarding how much data it exfiltrated, nor any ransom demand or date of publication of the full data set.

 

Qilin takes its name from a mythical Chinese creature, though members of the operation have been observed conversing in Russian on hacking forums, leading researchers to believe the hackers are based somewhere in the Confederation of Independent States. 

 

According to Cyber Daily, Qilin is a ransomware-as-a-service operation hiring itself out to any affiliate willing to pass on some of its profits.

 

The gang was first observed in August 2022 and has since then claimed 482 victims, and its most recent Australian victim was Moonee Ponds-based MKA Accountants, which was listed on the group’s leak site in May.