Following the news that Medibank, Australia’s biggest health insurer, became victim of a data breach, the organisation has provided an update.
In a recent statement, it confirmed that it has successfully taken offline its ahm and international policy systems and its data, and it is now in the process of methodically restarting its systems.
The statement continued: ‘The work we have done continues to show no evidence that customer data has been accessed, however our investigation is ongoing. We have spoken with the Australian Cyber Security Centre, APRA, Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Private Health Insurance Ombudsman, the Department of Health and the Department of Home Affairs over the course of the day to ensure that our regulators and other key stakeholders are informed.
‘We have begun the process of contacting our customers and our focus remains on ensuring the ongoing security of our customers, employees and stakeholders and the continued delivery of Medibank services. Our highest priority remains resolving this matter transparently and as quickly as possible’.
Neena Sharma, Senior Strategist at Clavister, commented on the news: “The data breach suffered by Medibank is worrying, especially following the Optus cyberattack which also hit Australia only weeks ago. Highly sensitive personal information was accessed by the hackers, which raises concern about adequate cyber protection. Businesses and industries that hold large amounts of sensitive consumer data, such as health insurers, the transportation sector and the banking sector, must invest better in safeguarding technologies to prevent hackers from accessing personal information.”
