A group of Russian cyber criminals have been identified as those behind the huge Medibank data hack.

Intelligence obtained by federal police has pointed to “a group of loosely-affiliated cyber criminals”.

Press PLAY below to hear the AFP boss reveal the details 

AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the it’s understood the group is likely responsible for past significant breaches in other countries.

“These cyber criminals are operating like a business with affiliates and associates, who are supporting the business,” he said.

“We also believe some affiliates may be in other countries.”

While Mr Kershaw said police believe they know which individuals are responsible for the attack, he wouldn’t name them publicly.

“What I will say is that we will be holding talks with Russian law enforcement about these individuals.”

The Commissioner confirmed investigators are scouring the dark web to identify anyone accessing medical records dumped by the hackers under Operation Guardian.

“To the criminals: We know who you are, and moreover, the AFP has some significant runs on the scoreboard when it comes to bringing overseas offenders back to Australia to face the justice system.”

Tech expert Geoff Quattromani told Sofie Formia the big question is what can be done to take down a group of Russian criminals.

“This is the biggest challenge,” he said. “If it was a different country, maybe we would have that opportunity.

“I think what we need to do as Australians is think about how we’re going to handle [it] as all of the data eventually does get exposed.”

Press PLAY below to hear Geoff Quattromani explain the dark web, where the hackers are operating 

Images: AFP, Barbour/Getty Images