Cyberattack in Australia: Celebrities fear for data

Medibank, one of Australia’s largest health insurers, has now fallen victim to a cyberattack. However, the attackers are apparently not only putting pressure on the company itself, but also on its celebrity customers.

Sensitive data of celebrities captured in cyberattack

Just yesterday we reported that the wholesale company Metro was the victim of a cyberattack. Now there has been another incident in Australia. As part of an extensive cyberattack, hackers were able to scam the data of many Australian celebrities. However, these are not just mere addresses or phone numbers of the VIPs. Since Medibank, one of Australia’s most important and largest insurers, was attacked, the captured data could hardly be more sensitive. With the health data in their luggage, however, the attackers are not blackmailing the health insurance company itself.

Rather, the aim is also to exert massive pressure on those affected. This emerges from a report in The Sydney Morning Herald. This is also a corresponding ransom note, which most likely many of the affected celebrities received. A total of almost 1000 celebrities from Down Under are said to be affected. In Germany, too, cyberattacks have unfortunately become a sad part of everyday life. For example, in early August this year, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) was attacked.

Medibank is under massive pressure due to cyberattack

For the health insurance company, of course, this incident is a true state of emergency. After all, the attack weighs particularly heavily due to the sensitivity of the data and gnaws at the company’s otherwise flawless image. It is not without reason that Medibank has a total of 3.9 million customers. In order to protect its policyholders from unpleasant surprises, the insurance company already informed them about the cyberattack last week. In the course of this, a comprehensive analysis was initiated in order to learn more about the background. However, Medibank has not yet made the relevant findings public. This could possibly also have investigative tactical reasons.

According to insiders, however, the hackers have already contacted Medibank and informed the company about the extent of the cyberattack. A total of 200 GB of data was collected. What happens next is anyone’s guess. Since the attackers are probably willing to enter into negotiations with the insurer, those affected will put pressure on Medibank to do or pay everything in its power. The celebrities among the victims in particular may rightly fear that their data will be made public. The fact that an attacked person is being blackmailed is not new. What is different is the fact that the hackers have, as it were, also pointed out the risks to the company’s affected customers in order to increase the pressure once again.