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Australia has joined the United States and United Kingdom in sanctioning a Russian cybercrime organisation and its leaders, which the Albanese government says have facilitated attacks in Australia.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said cybercrime was one of the fastest-growing threats and the government was ready to face it.

“We will continue to do everything we can to break down the networks and alienate the individuals who are driving cyberattacks against Australia and Australian interests,” he said in a statement.

The government said the Russian cybercrime service providers, known collectively as Media Land, have provided ransomware infrastructure to cybercriminals, allowing them to launch attacks.

“Media Land has helped enable criminals to conduct attacks against Australian financial institutions, Australian businesses, their customers, and critical international infrastructure,” a press release said.

The sanctions make it a criminal offence to provide assets to either the Russian cybercrime service providers (Media Land LLC and ML. Cloud LLC) or two key staff (Aleksandr Alexandrovich Volosovik and Kirill Andreevich Zatolokin), or to use or deal with their assets, with penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment and heavy fines.

The sanctions also ban the individuals from entering Australia.