Hackers have stolen the personal and health data of nearly 13 million Australians, marking one of the nation’s most significant cyber attacks.
MediSecure is a company that facilitates electronic prescriptions and dispensing; the company has confirmed it was hacked earlier this year.
According to MediSecure, around 6.5TB of data, including names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, Medicare numbers, prescription information, and reasons for medication, appeared to have been compromised.
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A sample of this data has been exposed on the dark web, but MediSecure cannot identify specific individuals due to the data’s complexity and cost.
The company confirmed that customers who used the company’s prescription delivery service from March 2019 to November 2023 were affected.
National Cyber Security Coordinator Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness warned against seeking or accessing stolen information on the dark web.
“No one should go looking for or access stolen sensitive or personal information from the dark web,” Ms McGuinness said.
“This activity only feeds the business model of cyber criminals and can be a criminal offence,” she added.
Ms McGuinness encouraged individuals, whether impacted in this incident, to be alert to being targeted in scams.
“If contacted by someone claiming to be a medical or other service provider, including financial service provider, seeking personal, payment or banking information you should hang up and call back on a phone number you have sourced independently.”
The breach was discovered on April 13 when suspected ransomware was found on a server containing sensitive data.
In June, the company went into administration weeks after falling victim to the cyber attack.
Australian Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind said the data breach showed legislative changes were needed.
“Reform of the Privacy Act is urgent to ensure all Australian organisations build the highest levels of security into their operations and the community’s personal information is protected to the maximum extent possible.”
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