E-script platform MediSecure hit by ‘large-scale’ ransomware
MediSecure, a digital prescription platform provider, has become the latest in Australia to fall victim to a major ransomware attack by unknown actors.
On Thursday, May 16, the company reported a cyberattack “impacting individuals’ personal and health information” on its system. The company’s website and phone lines have since gone offline.
“While we continue to gather more information, early indicators indicate the incident originated from one of our third-party vendors,” the report said.
National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) Michelle McGuinness has been called in to assist in responding to the incident.
The next day, May 17, McGuinness said in an update that “no current e-prescriptions have been compromised or accessed.”
“The Ministry of Health has (also) confirmed that there has been no impact on e-prescription services currently in use.”
WHY IT MATTERS
McGuinness initially did not mention MediSecure in a statement early Thursday informing him of a “major ransomware data breach incident” involving a “commercial health information organization.”
The extent of the impact of the data breach has not yet been known. MediSecure provided the e-prescription service for the Australian government until it switched to a new provider, eRx from Fred IT, in 2023.
For now, “the original compromise is isolated,” McGuinness said, citing advice from MediSecure, and that “there is no evidence to suggest an increased cyber threat to the medical sector.”
“We are closely reviewing whether any identity documents were compromised in the breach and are working with MediSecure, Services Australia and state and territory credential issuing agencies to gain a full picture of the affected dataset.”
She also does not recommend that anyone who may be affected replace their Medicare card at this time.
The NCSC is taking a whole-of-government approach to respond to the cyber incident and is convening the National Coordination Mechanism with the National Emergency Management Agency.
Key industry bodies have also been contacted to be briefed on the incident and the national response. These include the Australian Medical Association, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and major private hospital providers.
THE BIG TREND
Major hacks have identified Australian organizations in recent years, including private health insurer Medibank and telecommunications company Optus. In health care, St Vincent’s Health suffered a cyber breach in December, with hackers removing certain data from the system. It is not yet known which data was consulted. Meanwhile, Monash Health was named among those whose data was compromised by the ransomware attack that hit ZircoDATA in February. The exposed data concerns the archived data of victims of domestic violence and sexual violence from 1970 to 1993.