2 years ago
27
Cyber-extortionist posts aesculapian accusation purporting to amusement details of abortions and treatments for addiction, HIV.
Published On 10 Nov 2022
A cyber-extortionist has demanded astir $10 cardinal to halt leaking the aesculapian records of Australians caught up successful 1 of the country’s worst cyberattacks.
In a connection posted connected the acheronian web aboriginal connected Thursday morning, the hacker said it was demanding $1 from Medibank, Australia’s largest backstage wellness insurer, for each of the 9.7 cardinal customers affected successful an tremendous information breach past month.
The cybercriminal oregon transgression organisation besides posted accusation purporting to nexus clients to their abortions, aft earlier this week releasing a “naughty list” appearing to show customers who received treatments for addiction, intelligence wellness issues and HIV.
Local media person linked the acheronian web forum utilized to station the hacked information to the transgression radical REvil, which Russian authorities said they unopen down earlier this twelvemonth astatine the petition of the United States.
Medibank CEO David Koczkar connected Thursday condemned the hacker’s actions arsenic “disgraceful” portion reiterating an apology to customers.
“We stay committed to afloat and transparently communicating with customers and we volition beryllium contacting customers whose information has been released connected the acheronian web,” Koczkar said.
“The weaponisation of people’s backstage accusation successful an effort to extort outgo is malicious, and it is an onslaught connected the astir susceptible members of our community.”
Medibank has refused to wage the ransom, citing proposal from cybercrime experts that doing truthful would not guarantee the instrumentality of customers’ accusation and could enactment “more radical successful harm’s mode by making Australia a bigger target”.
The Australian Federal Police, which is investigating the cyberattack, has warned that downloading oregon adjacent conscionable accessing the information could beryllium a transgression offence.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has described the hackers arsenic “scummy criminals”.
“I cannot articulate the disgust I person for the scumbags who are astatine the bosom of this transgression act,” O’Neil told parliament connected Wednesday.
The cyberattack, which archetypal came to airy past month, is the latest successful a bid of ample information breaches to stone Australia.
Optus, Australia’s second-largest telecom provider, announced successful September the information of up to 10 cardinal customers had been compromised successful a cyberattack against the company.
Source
:
Al Jazeera and quality agencies
English (US)