‘Damage could be irreparable’: Home Affairs Minister’s Medibank warning
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The Home Affairs Minister says authorities are still unravelling the Medibank data breach that has put the personal information of millions at risk.
Millions of people are anxiously waiting to see if their personal medical information – including records of STDs, drug addiction and mental health issues – was leaked.
There are concerns the personal records could be made public, potentially making Medicare customers blackmail targets.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil told Today she’s “very, very concerned about what has happened here”.
“The issue with Medibank is that the information at stake here is personal, private health information of Australian citizens and this damage could be irreparable,” she said.
“If anything happens to put this into the public realm, it will be an absolute dog act.”
Ms O’Neil warned that cyber attacks are becoming the new norm.
“There was a meeting of Interpol, the heads of all the police forces around the world, this week in India,” she continued.
“They say that cybercrime is their number one concern for the globe.”
The federal government is now looking at ways to limit the data retention of Australian companies.
Image: Today