According to Australian officials, Moscow must be held accountable for Russian cybercriminals accused of hacking Medibank, the biggest health insurance company in Australia, and posting clients' private medical details on the dark web.
As per AP's report, the massive data breach compromised the personal data of more than 9 million current and former Medibank customers.
Balloons are seen as MediBank name appears on the securities exchange display in Sydney on November 25, 2014. Australia's largest health insurer listed at a solid premium on the stock market in the country's most anticipated float this year and one of the nation's biggest ever.
Loosely Affiliated Cybercriminals
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said that the Medibank hack and other big security breaches worldwide were likely carried out by a group of "loosely affiliated cybercriminals" functioning like a business in Russia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose Medibank account had personal information stolen as well, is said to have given the green light for authorities to identify the source of the attack.
"The nation where these attacks are coming from should also be held accountable for the disgusting attacks, and the release of information including very private and personal information," Albanese said in a statement.
The prominent Russian cybercrime group REvil, short for Ransomware Evil and also known as Sodinokibi, has been linked to cyber criminals.
After multiple arrests were conducted at the request of the United States, the Russian Federal Security Service said in January that REvil "ceased to exist."
A new website hosting the stolen Medibank data had begun receiving traffic from an outdated REvil dark website, according to AP.
Read also: Medibank Hackers Dump Records of Patients with Alcohol Illnesses on the Dark Web
"Not Surprised"
The crime gang's base of operations in Russia was not surprising, according to Fergus Hanson, director of the cyber policy division at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
On Friday, cybercriminals released private medical records on the dark web for the third time. This time, it focuses on illnesses brought on by alcohol consumption to force Medibank to pay a ransom.
After Medibank decided against paying a ransom for the return of the stolen data, the thieves started releasing client records on Wednesday, including HIV and drug addiction treatments, which they referred to as a "naughty" list.
The cyberhackers also dumped sensitive data of patients with harmful levels of alcohol consumption on Thursday. They even went as far as posting records of Aussie women who had non-viable pregnancies or abortions on Friday.
More than 700 customers' medical treatment records were made public on the same day in what has been called Australia's most invasive cybercrime so far.
Numerous other customers' private information, such as phone numbers and email addresses, that could make them vulnerable to fraud or identity theft has also been made public.
David Koczkar, CEO of Medibank, confirmed the third dump and stated that his organization contacted impacted customers and provided assistance. He anticipated that the daily dumps would carry on.
The group, known in the cybersecurity community as BlogXX, blamed Medibank for refusing to pay a $9.7 million ransom demand.
The Australian government told the media not to download any sensitive data leaked on the dark web due to its delicate nature.
Related Article: Medibank Warns its Clients of Hackers Who Started Leaking Stolen Confidential Data
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Written by Jace Dela Cruz
