Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
Politics
Alex Mitchell

Medibank hackers identified by Australia

Medibank CEO David Koczkar expects the release of customer data to continue each day. (Diego Fedele/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has directed the Australian Federal Police to reveal where the Medibank hackers are based and warned those responsible will be held to account.

The hackers had thumbed their noses at the government after being warned the toughest "cyber guns" in Australia are coming after them, releasing more sensitive details of customers' medical records on the dark web overnight.

Mr Albanese said the AFP would release more information later on Friday, as authorities continue to close in on the hackers.

"I am disgusted by the perpetrators of this criminal act and I've certainly authorised the AFP Commissioner later today to disclose where these attacks are coming from," he told reporters.

"We know where they're coming from, we know who is responsible and we say they should be held to account."

The ransomware group added a file named "Boozy.csv" to the dark web, which appears to contain information related to alcohol issues after a data dump on Thursday named "abortions.csv".

"You telling that is disgusting (woof-woof), that we publish some data," they wrote on Friday in the blog seen by AAP.

"But we warned you. we always keep our word, if we wouldn't receive a ransom - we should post this data, because nobody will believe us in the future."

The group claimed on Thursday it had demanded a ransom of $US1 for each of Medibank's 9.7 million affected customers, for a total of $US9.7 million (almost $A15 million).

Medibank CEO David Koczkar said he expected the "disgraceful" release of customer data to continue each day.

"It's obvious the criminal is enjoying the notoriety," he said.

"The relentless nature of this tactic being used by the criminal is designed to cause distress and harm. These are real people behind this data and the misuse of their data is deplorable and may discourage them from seeking medical care."

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said she felt the pain of those affected by the two most recent file drops.

"If there was a damn thing that I could do to put a stop to this, I would do it," she told Nine's Today Show on Friday.

"There is an enormous amount of work that has gone into trying to stop harm from resulting from this, trying to wrap our arms around the victims of this horrible crime."

It's believed the hackers are using medical reference codes to sift through the data they stole to generate files on specific health issues.

The AFP and the Australian Signals Directorate were the "cyber guns" of the federal government and were working hard to disrupt the hackers, Ms O'Neil said.

The minister also stressed that Australian businesses must awaken to the urgency of the threat posed by hackers.

"We have been in a slumber about cybersecurity threats that face us," she said.

"We need to wake up from that slumber."

The first wave of files dropped on Wednesday included names, birthdates, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, health claims information, Medicare numbers for Medibank's ahm customers, and passport numbers for international student clients.

Medibank has confirmed details of almost 500,000 health claims have been stolen, along with personal information, after the group hacked into its system last month.

No credit card or banking details were accessed.

Medibank has created a one-stop shop of mental health and other support services that can be accessed by affected customers via its website.

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.