Medibank, a private health insurer in Australia with 3,9 million customers, was the victim of a hacker attack in which data was probably stolen. According to various media, digital health records of around 1.000 celebrities have also been stolen. Apparently, the hackers are increasing the pressure to pay the ransom by wanting to make the celebs' files public.
It was apparently a large-scale attack on the health insurer Medibank, which claims to have around 3,9 million customers. After the attack, Medibank first notified the Australian Federal Police and then released a statement. Hackers claim that they have stolen 200 GB of patient data and are demanding a ransom for it.
Files stolen from 1.000 celebrities?
The hackers claim that the stolen data included the medical records and findings of around 1.000 celebrities. If the ransom is not paid, the hackers threaten to publish exactly this data. If they did, Medibank would certainly have to face some lawsuits from these patients. This is exactly what is supposed to increase the pressure on Medibank.
To date, Medibank has been very transparent about the attack. In the present statement, Medibank states that the hackers sent 100 policies as proof of their foray. One is relatively convinced that these originate from the current databases. This information includes first and last names, addresses, dates of birth, Medicare numbers, policy numbers, phone numbers, and some claims dates. According to Medibank, the criminals also claim to have stolen other information, including credit card security data. This has probably not yet been verified internally.
Second major incident in Australia
Already at the end of September Australian telecommunications company Optus fell victim to a cyber attack. The attacker captured millions of customer data. Optus is Australia's second largest telecommunications company with 9,8 million customers. Important data, such as digital ID documents, were captured during the attack. To date, Optus has been struggling with the consequences and has to support customers with damage.
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