An Australian private health organisation has been targeted by a large-scale ransomware attack.
National Cyber Security Coordinator Michelle McGuinnes said in a statement she had been advised of a large-scale ransomware breach incident against a private health information provider on Wednesday afternoon.
“I am working with agencies across the Australian government, states and territories to co-ordinate a whole-of-government response to this incident,” her statement read.
“We are in the very preliminary stages of our response and there is limited detail to share at this stage, but I will continue to provide updates as we progress while working closely with the affected commercial organisation to address the impacts caused by the incident.”
The Australian Signals Directorate’s Cyber Security Centre and Australian Federal Police are investigating the situation, which is believed to be in its early stages.
It’s understood public health systems and public hospitals have not been affected by latest breach on a “medium-sized “ health provider.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has convened peak intelligence and security officers in response to the crisis incident.
“I have been briefed on this incident in recent days and the government convened a National Co-ordination Mechanism regarding this matter today,” she wrote on X.
It’s not yet known the name of the company involved.
In 2022, health insurance giant Medibank fell victim to a major cyber hack that affected the personal details of 9.7 million people.
The attack was believed to be linked to a well-known ransomware group based in Russia.
The federal government released its seven-year cyber security strategy in November, which allocated $565m to help businesses report malicious intrusions and ransomware attacks.
The Australian Signals Directorate revealed in its annual cyber threat update that nearly 94,000 reports of cybercrime were made to police in 2022-23, an increase of 23 per cent from the previous year.
The cyber agency revealed China as a major backer of hacks targeting Australian critical infrastructure and companies.