A company that operates more than 60 healthcare clinics across Australia has confirmed it was the victim of a cyber attack, with potentially dozens of general practices compromised by the incident.
Partnered Health disclosed details of the incident on 15 July, warning that it had become aware of malicious activity on its network on 23 June.
“In response, Partnered Health engaged specialist cyber experts to provide advice. We took immediate steps to contain the incident and assess whether personal information was accessed. This investigation remains ongoing,” Partnered Health said.
“Our investigations to date have confirmed that personal information (including health information) was taken from some of the clinics in our network. We are continuing to investigate the extent to which personal information has been impacted by this incident and are communicating with patients from impacted clinics.”
The company said it was working with the relevant authorities, including the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
While investigations are ongoing, Partnered Health has confirmed that patient data was accessed, including names and emails, dates of birth, and addresses. Medicare numbers, private health insurance details, and Veteran Card numbers may also have been compromised.
In addition, the threat actor may have accessed “medical information and treatment details, including consultation notes, referral letters, and pathology or diagnostic results recorded by a GP or other medical professionals at our clinics”.
According to Partnered Health, the practices that have been impacted include:
- Blackburn Road Medical Centre
- Broadway General Practice
- Bundall Medical Centre
- Cardiff Medical Centre & Skin Cancer Clinic
- Castle Hill Family Doctors
- Champion Drive Medical Centre
- Chancellor Park Family Medical Practice
- Dromana Family Doctors
- Dural Medical Centre
- Joondalup City Medical Group
- Kealba Family Practice
- Mornington Family Doctors
- Noosaville Seven Day Medical Centre
- North Canberra Family Practice
- Park Beach Family Practice
- Park Orchards Family Practice
- Rockingham City Family Practice
- Sans Souci Medical Practice
- Templestowe District Medical Centre
- Wentworth Avenue Family Practice
- Wyong Family Practice
Partnered Health said it has obtained an injunction from the Supreme Court of NSW ordering that the data is not used or published. Cyber Daily understands that clinics above are already in the process of contacting patients.
No threat actor has yet taken responsibility for the incident.
According to Andrew Philp, Field CISO ANZ at TrendAI, told Cyber Daily that patient data is a "lucrative target" for hackers.
"Unlike a credit card, a patient’s diagnoses, treatment history or biometric data cannot simply be cancelled and reissued, which makes healthcare organisations uniquely attractive to ransomware groups and data brokers. A single breach can create long-term consequences for individuals, healthcare providers and the wider health ecosystem," Philp said.
“It's also prime currency within the broader underground economy, fuelling criminal activity and creating a ripple-effect across industry and government. As a result, we're seeing a growing 'industrialisation' of cybercrime targeting healthcare, with underground marketplaces offering everything from hospital network login details to insurance data and even fake medical documentation.
"Initial access brokers, ransomware affiliates, credential sellers and fraud specialists all work together as part of an interconnected supply chain designed to monetise patient data repeatedly and at scale.”
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David Hollingworth
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.