One of Australia’s biggest private health insurers has confirmed it has received a ransom demand from hackers claiming to have stolen private customer data.
It comes after Medibank Private last week revealed it had been the target of a suspected cyber attack last week.
According to the company, hackers are threatening to release the personal details of thousands of customers, including medical diagnoses unless the private health insurer pays up.
Medibank said in a statement that it is still working to verify if the threat is real.
“This is a new development and Medibank understands this news will cause concerns for customers and the protection of their data remains our priority,” the company said.
“Medibank is working urgently to establish if the claim is true, although based on our ongoing forensic investigation we are treating the matter seriously at this time.
“As a health company providing health insurance and health services, Medibank holds a range of necessary personal information of customers.”
Chief executive David Koczkar has apologised to customers, admitting he realises the news will be concerning.
“We have always said that we will prioritise responding to this matter as transparently as possible,” he said.
“Our team has been working around the clock since we first discovered the unusual activity on our systems, and we will not stop doing that now.
“We will continue to take decisive action to protect Medibank customers, our people and other stakeholders.”
The company has since gone into a trading halt on the ASX while investigations continue.
