Cyber Security Minister Clare O'Neil says the damage from the Medibank cyber attack is "potentially irrepar...
"For a cybercriminal to hang this over the heads of Australians is a dog act. "As we continue to investigate the scale of this cybercrime, we expect the number of affected customers to grow as this unfolds." "It has become clear that the criminal has taken data that now includes Medibank customer data, in addition to that of (health insurance business) ahm and international student customers," the company said in a statement. It is scum of the earth, lowest of the low territory." ultimately something can usually be done to protect consumers. We can replace bank cards.
Medibank has confirmed millions more customers than originally thought have had their data compromised in its recent cyberattack.
It’ll also rollout a comprehensive customer support package, which will include mental health and wellbeing support for customers and access to specialist identity protection advice with IDCare. [ABC](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-25/medibank-breach-wider-than-estimated/101572904), Medibank previously confirmed that only customers of its subsidiary AHM and its international student insurance had been affected by the data breach. “This is a malicious attack that has been committed by criminals with a view of causing maximum fear and damage, especially to the most vulnerable members of our community,” he said. The health insurer said it was too early to tell how many customers had been affected by the data breach, as well as the full extent of customer data that had been compromised, per “As we continue to investigate the scale of this cybercrime, we expect the number of affected customers to grow as this unfolds.” Medibank chief executive David Koczkar described the attack as “malicious” and confirmed the company had been working with federal agencies on the criminal investigation.
Medibank says the October 13 cyber attack on its customers' data has compromised more customers than it orginally thought. Emilia Terzon reports.
Medibank says the October 13 cyber attack on its customers' data has compromised more customers than it orginally thought. Emilia Terzon reports.
The insurer's hacking crisis might be deepening, but it's time for it to update investors about the financial impacts and for its shares to trade again.
Clearly there will be a hit from the deferral of premium increases, although this is likely to be relatively small. [Sign up to our weekly Opinion newsletter.](https://login.myfairfax.com.au/signup_newsletter/10146?channel_key=9ME3ACTT4ZYY1fEMfvR2EA&callback_uri=https://www.afr.com) [James Thomson](/by/james-thomson-1446yx)is a Chanticleer columnist based in Melbourne. But the biggest costs are likely to come from three sources: remediating affected customers, legal claims and the reputational brand damage. But inside the market operator, this is seen as a unique situation – and arguably something of a test case for how cyber breaches involving listed companies need to be treated. As federal cybersecurity minister Clare O’Neil told parliament on Tuesday afternoon, the fact the hackers have access to sensitive medical and health information adds an extra dimension to hacks that are financially motivated. The assurances it provided last week about the safety of consumer data look sillier by the day.