Cyber-Extortionist Leaks Australians’ Medical Records

Facts

• On Wednesday, hackers began leaking sensitive medical records stolen from Medibank, an Australian health insurer with nearly 10M customers, after the firm refused to pay a ransom.
• The company said that a "sample" from the stolen data had been leaked on a dark web forum linked to the Russian ransomware group "REvil," consisting of hundreds of leaks of personal information — including names, addresses, and government identification. The insurance company said it expected more customer data to be released.
• The leaked information divided people into two categories, a "naughty" list, and a "nice" list. Some on the "naughty" list had codes that seemed to tie them to drug addiction, alcohol use, and HIV.
• Australian firms have recently suffered a string of data breaches. PM Anthony Albanese said the government is working with investigators on the cyber attack, stating: "This is really tough for people. I'm a Medibank private customer as well, and it will be of concern that some of this information has been put out there."
• After Medibank had refused to pay an undisclosed ransom, the hackers followed through on their threat to publish the stolen data. The company told customers, "Based on the extensive advice we have received from cybercrime experts, we believe there is only a limited chance paying a ransom would ensure the return of our customer's data and prevent it from being published."
• The security incident has erased hundreds of millions of dollars from Medibank's market value. The company's share price plummeted over 20% since last month when the news of the leak first appeared.

Sources: Al Jazeera, BBC News, Security Week, Reuters, RFI, and France24.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Guardian. Unfortunately, this is the new world that we live in. The Medibank breach is a huge wake-up call that shows the need for an overhaul of information and privacy protection. From here on in, companies must be aware that they're under relentless cyber-attack. Australia's institutions are generally well prepared but can do even more to safeguard classified information.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Crayon. Cybersecurity isn't taken seriously enough in either the public or private sector. Most business leaders believe that their enterprises are safe from harm, but the truth is far less comforting. In a 2021 study, a staggering 63% of businesses said they had experienced a cyberattack. The hidden cost isn't the value of the stolen information but losing the customer's trust — and the impact that may have on the attacked company's share value.

Predictions