Medibank Hacker releases 1,496 more private medical records on the Dark Web.

This morning the people or person behind the Medibank cyber attack took to their dark web forum to release yet more personal health details of Australians obtained when they stole millions of records from Medibank last month.

Having released information last Monday and foreshadowing their attention to the Medibank Annual General Meeting, the hacker missed their own deadline of releasing more information on Friday, and this morning uploaded four new files to the Dark Web.

The files contain 55, 814, 623 and 4 records – and are each purporting to be specific health conditions of those users. EFTM chooses not to publish the names of those files, or the health conditions allegedly involved.

This release takes the total number of records to over 2,700 released by the hackers, though Medibank has previously confirmed some individuals details are present in multiple files, EFTM believes over 2,500 Australians would be affected by these leaks.

Medibank continues to offer support to customers and has told EFTM previously they are reaching out to those who have had their details released on the Dark Web to offer additional support.

Australian Federal Police are confident they know who’s behind the hack, though we’re unsure what the likelihood of arrest is.

Advice and response directly from Medibank for customers continues to be:

• A cybercrime health & wellbeing line (1800 644 325) – counsellors that have experience supporting vulnerable people (such as those at risk of domestic violence) and have been trained to support victims of crime and issues related to sensitive health information
• Mental health outreach service – proactive support service for customers identified as being vulnerable, or through referral from our contact centre team
• Better Minds App – new tailored preventative health advice and resources specific to cybercrime and its impact on mental health and wellbeing, including tools for managing anxiety and fear, with additional phone based psychological support available
• Personal duress alarms – for customers particularly vulnerable and/or with safety risks

• Hardship support for customers who are in a uniquely vulnerable position as a result of this crime which can be accessed via our contact centre team (13 23 31 for Medibank and international customers, 13 42 46 for ahm customers and 1800 081 245 for My Home Hospital patients)
• Specialist identity protection advice and resources through IDCARE’s purpose-built Medibank page
• Free identity monitoring services for customers whose identity has been compromised as a result of this crime
• Reimbursement of ID replacement fees for customers who need to replace any identity documents that have been compromised as a result of this crime
• Specialised teams to help our customers who receive scam communications or threats

To further assist our customers, we’ve extended call centre hours and created dedicated specialist teams to support customers.

Reach out for support

We understand this crime will be distressing for many of our customers.

Customers should reach out for support if they need it from:

• Medibank’s Mental Health Support line on 1800 644 325 (Medibank international students call 1800 887 283 and ahm international students call 1800 006 745)
• Beyond Blue (1300 224 636 / beyondblue.org.au)
• Lifeline (13 11 14 / lifeline.org.au)
• Their GP or other relevant health professional

Remaining vigilant

Medibank recommends being vigilant with all online communications and transactions including:

• Being alert for any phishing scams via phone, post or email
• Verifying any communications received to ensure they are legitimate
• Not opening texts from unknown or suspicious numbers
• Changing passwords regularly with ‘strong’ passwords, not re-using passwords and activating multi-factor authentications on any online accounts where available
• Medibank will never contact customers asking for password or sensitive information