The most recent cyberattack incident in Australia has been reported with the health insurance company Medibank Private disclosing a potential hack on its network due to detected unusual activity. The report also explained that there was no proof of sensitive proprietary and customer data being accessed or stolen.
According to the statement released by the health insurance company, some of their customer-facing systems will temporarily be offline as the investigations transpire. However, health services for the customers will remain available.
The CEO of Medibank Private expressed frustration and apologies for the interruptions caused by the security incident.
David Koczkar, Medibank Private’s chief executive, has expressed frustration about the security incident, explaining that they recognise responsibility for the customers’ sensitive data they are holding. The executive apologised for what happened, acknowledged people’s concerns, and assured them that resolving the incident was their utmost priority.
Security experts state that large insurance companies, such as Medibank Private, have always been valuable targets for cyber attackers. One of the reasons malicious actors target these entities is the massive amount of highly sensitive data they hold, which could be beneficial when sold to other hackers for a large profit.
Moreover, researchers also shared that it is encouraging to see how large firms like Medibank Private come forward and takes accountability for security breaches. The affected customers must be duly informed whether their data are at risk and that communicating these incidents to the public will help evade speculation and wrong information from being circulated.
Australia has been hit with several cyberattack incidents this year. In September, a major hack was reported against the Australian telco Optus, with over nine million customers said to be impacted. Complaints had bombarded the firm because of the failure to protect its customers’ data, which could now be exposed to hackers online.
Australian citizens must be more vigilant as many of them could be a part of the massive breaches in the country. Several cyberattack campaigns could be launched by threat actors, including identity theft, fraud, or phishing, that could lead to further damage, such as financial loss.
