HIV carriers or drug addicts, Australian health insurance customers saw their most personal medical data published on the internet on Wednesday, November 9 after a major hack and the company’s refusal to pay a ransom.
Medibank, one of the country’s largest private health insurers, told investors that a “sample” of data from its roughly 9.7 million customers had been published on a “dark web forum.” The company expects more leaks.
A list of “good guys” and “bad guys”
Names, passport numbers, dates of birth, addresses and medical information were among the personal data released anonymously Wednesday morning.
The victims were divided into a list of “good guys” and “bad guys”.
Several people on the “villains” list were associated with numerical codes linking them to drug addiction, alcoholism, and HIV.
One file included, for example, the indication “p_diag: F122”.
F122 is the code for “cannabis dependence” according to the International Classification of Diseases published by the World Health Organization.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a client of Medibank, likened the cyberattack to a “warning shot” for Australian businesses.
The leaked data was posted on a dark web forum, which cannot be found with normal browsers.
More leaks expected
Medibank, which offers private health insurance to Australians who want to supplement the universal public health system, told the Australian Stock Exchange about the leak shortly before the bourse opened.
“We hope that the (hijacker) will continue to post files on the dark web,” he continued.
The hackers made good on their threat, after warning that they would release the data if Medibank did not pay them an undisclosed ransom.
“PS: I recommend selling Medibank shares,” the hackers wrote in a forum some 24 hours before the first sample data was published.
Medibank, backed by the Australian federal government, on Tuesday refused to grant his request and advised its clients to remain “vigilant”.
“Based on the extensive advice we have received from cybercrime experts, we believe that paying a ransom would have only a limited chance of securing the return of our customers’ data and preventing its publication,” said Medibank chief David Koczkar.
Insurance prices drop 20%
The hackers also published what they say is a series of exchanges between themselves and Medibank representatives.
This security breach has already cost Medibank’s market valuation hundreds of millions of dollars. The company’s share price has plunged 20% since October, when information about the data leak first surfaced.
Justine Gough, in charge of cybersecurity issues at the Australian Federal Police, indicated that the “criminal or criminal groups” responsible for the hack could operate from abroad.
Assistant Australian Treasury Stephen Jones called them “garbage” and “thieves”.
As Medibank struggled to contain the leak, it was also threatened by potentially costly class action lawsuits.
Two law firms announced Tuesday that they have joined forces to investigate whether Medibank breached its client privacy obligations under Australian law.
The attack on Medibank comes after a September attack on the country’s second-largest mobile operator, Optus, which leaked the personal data of some nine million Australians, almost a third of the population.
Source: BFM TV
