Medibank acts to curtail ‘cyber incident’
ONE of the largest Australian private health insurance providers has been hit by a “cyber incident”.
Medibank Group detected unusual activity on its network on Wednesday and subsequently took immediate steps to contain the incident.
“At this stage there is no evidence that any sensitive data, including customer data, has been accessed,” Medibank said in a statement.
“As part of our response, Medibank will be isolating and removing access to some customer-facing systems to reduce the likelihood of damage to systems or data loss.
“As a result our ahm and international student policy management systems have been taken offline. We expect these systems to be offline for most of the day.”
Medibank advised this would cause “regrettable disruptions” for some customers.
Medibank chief executive David Koczkar recognised the news may “concern” some people in the wake of the recent Optus data breach.
“I apologise and acknowledge that in the current environment this news may make people concerned,” Mr Koczkar said.
“Our highest priority is resolving this matter as transparently and quickly as possible. We will continue to take decisive action to protect Medibank Group customers and our people.
“We are working around the clock to understand the full nature of the incident.”
Investigations are ongoing, with Medibank committing to providing regular updates.
About 9.8 million Australians had their data accessed in the Optus cyber attack, including addresses, passport numbers and drivers licence information.