St Vincent’s Health becomes the victim of a cyberattack

Data has been stolen by hackers from one of Australia's largest not-for-profit healthcare providers, St Vincent's Health.

The hospital and aged care provider, which operates in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, fell victim to a cyber attack on Tuesday.

The organization said on Thursday it had found “evidence that cybercriminals had deleted some data from our network.”

“St Vincent's is working to determine what data has been deleted,” St Vincent's Health said in a statement on Friday.

“The investigation into this matter is ongoing.”

After Tuesday's cyber attack, the organization said it took immediate steps to limit the data breach.

This included working with outside security experts and notifying all relevant state and federal government agencies.

“Key activities include securing and containing the incident, understanding what the cybercriminals did, and identifying what data may have been accessed and stolen,” the statement continued.

St. Vincent's said its ability to care for patients has not been affected.

“Our priority is the health and safety of our patients, residents and our people, and the continuity of St. Vincent's services to the community,” the report said.

It comes after Darren Goldie, coordinator of the National Office of Cyber ​​Security, confirmed on Thursday on X, formally known as Twitter, that his team was working with St Vincent's Health Australia.

St. Vincent's said its ability to care for patients has not been affected

“My team is working with Services Australia, the Department of Health and Aged Care and relevant state and territory agencies to ensure a coordinated government response to this incident and mitigate any flow-on effects,” Air Marshall Goldie said.

'The Australian Signal's Directorate's Australian Cyber ​​Security Center also works closely with St. Vincent's.

'St Vincent's has taken immediate steps to manage the incident and is prioritizing the health and safety of its patients and people and the continuity of services for the community.

'We have been informed that this incident has not impacted the ability of St Vincent's to deliver their important services to patients, residents and the wider community in their hospital, aged care and virtual and home care networks.'

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would receive the “appropriate briefing” at a press conference in Cairns on Friday when asked about the data breach.

'Cybersecurity is a major problem. The government has responded with a Cybersecurity Minister and a cybersecurity strategy that we recently announced.” he said

“All predictions are about increasing threats when it comes to cybersecurity, which is why my administration is taking these issues so seriously.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hopes to receive an 'appropriate briefing' about the data breach