Red Alert! Cyber Criminals

“Older people shouldn’t eat health food. They need all the preservatives they can get.”
— Robert Orben

Top Story

Customers of Medibank have recently been on high alert. Cyber Criminals have been leaking stolen medical information from the health insurance company. A group with ties to the extremely known cybergang REvil started publishing stolen information including customers’ names, birth dates, passport numbers, and more.

Medibank had previously refused to pay the ransom demanded. They believed that paying the ransom would still have little chance of stopping the sensitive information from being leaked.

The attack was malicious, the cybercriminals separated the victims into two groups, “naughty” and “good”. The naughty list was patients linked to drug addiction, HIV, alcohol abuse, and diagnosis in the same vein. It is believed that the leak also included government officials and other high-profile clients.

The data leaked so far also includes evidence of correspondence over WhatsApp between Medibank CEO David Koczkar and the cyber criminals. The messages include evidence that the criminals plan to release “keys for decrypting credit cards”, although Medibank denies that any credit card information was accessed.

The cybercriminals have leaked over 200 Medibank customers’ data, only a fraction of the data the group claims to have access to. Medibank has confirmed that the cybercriminals have access to about 9.7 million customers’ details and health claim data for about 500,000 customers.

What should victims do?

Those affected are at high risk for financial fraud according to Medibank, as well as Police. Customers are being urged to be on the lookout for phishing attacks and to watch all online account activity. Customers should also be sure to not reuse passwords and have multi-factor authentication in place on accounts.

Medibank launched a “cyber response support package”. Included in this is hardship support, reimbursement of government ID replacement fees, and more. Medibank is also providing mental health services and personal duress alarms for those affected.

Police as well as other high-powered agencies such as “Five Eyes” are investigating the breach. Although Medibank is an Australian company, other countries such as the U.S., U.K., Canada, and New Zealand are helping in the investigation. Operation Guardian, which was started by the Australian government after a data breach at Optus, a telco giant, will be extended to Medibank to help protect those affected.

This operation will be monitoring the clear, dark, and deep web for the sale and distribution of both companies’ data. Law enforcement is ready to take action quickly should anything be detected.

What’s Next?

Medibank feels that the situation is only going to get worse. The cybercriminals have said that they plan to release more data, source codes, and other files on the dark web.

Medibank will continue to contact those affected and will offer advice and guidance depending on the data accessed. Customers should be sure emails are coming directly from Medibank to avoid fraudulent emails. Medibank has advised customers to not click on any links, and they have said that they will not ask for any personal details over email.

It has not been determined yet what Medibank’s consequence will be for the failure to protect customers’ data, nor has it been decided if those impacted will receive compensation. This breach comes right after the Australian government released changes to the privacy laws throughout the country. The Privacy Legislation Amendment Bill will increase the maximum penalty that can be given for repeat or serious breaches of customer information.

Multiple law firms are investigating if Medibank did or did not meet its obligations under the Privacy Act. The terms of the policy will also decide if damages should be paid to those affected.

Diamond of the Week

Carlos Rincón 💎

Dr. Rincón is the military doctor who has evaluated the four missing children who were rescued from the jungle. The children ranging from ages 1 to 13 were involved in a plane crash and rescued after 40 days. Dr. Rincón has been taking great care of these children! To read more about the children and the situation as a whole click here.

Who’s the WOAT

Dr. Mary Bowden 😡

Dr. Mary Bowden has received a formal complaint from the Texas Medical Board. Dr. Bowden has already been suspended once for spreading misinformation about vaccines. Now she is accused of prescribing patients with medications without examining them, breaking doctor-patient confidentiality, and not always being professional when interacting with patients. To read more click here.

Who Knew

The misconception: HIPAA limits an individuals ability to access their medical records.

SO NOT TRUE! HIPAA gives the public unlimited access to their medical records. That being said there are always exceptions. Due to a medical provider’s responsibility to safeguard a patient’s PHI if a provider thinks that giving a patient access to the information may cause harm to themselves or others, the access could be restricted. Also, information that is restricted by federal law such as information involved in an ongoing investigation may be limited.

A Round of Applause For…

Carosh’s Chief Operations Officer Stephanie Lathrop 👏

Stephanie is the glue that keeps Carosh functioning! Without her, the departments would not work together as seamlessly as they do. Thank you, Stephanie, for all of your work!