Australia’s No. 1 health insurer says that hacker got hold of patient data
The largest health insurer in Australia revealed on Thursday that a criminal had allegedly stolen customers’ medical information as part of a significant data breach, raising concerns about a spate of high-profile cyberattacks.
Medibank Private Ltd, which covers one-sixth of Australians, said an unidentified person had shown the company stolen personal information of 100 customers, including medical diagnoses and procedures, as part of a theft of 200 gigabytes of data, first disclosed by the company a week earlier.
The company did not say how many of its 4 million customers were likely to have been affected but warned the number was likely to rise. The Australian Federal Police said they had opened an investigation into the breach, without commenting further.
The disclosure adds a new layer of angst to a wave of cyber attacks on Australia’s biggest firms since No. 2 telco Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, revealed a month ago that data of up to 10 million customers may have been stolen
