Genea data breach: Patient fury as IVF giant confirms personal details, medical records published on dark web
Genea, Australia's third-largest IVF and fertility provider, has reached out to patients with an email confirming the horrific extent of a data breach which has left them vulnerable to cybercriminals.
In February, a third party acting as a 'treat actor' managed to access the company's systems, exposing data of patients, an investigation has revealed.
That data includes full names, emails, addresses, phone numbers, Medicare card numbers, private health insurance details, defence DA number, medical record numbers, patient numbers, dates of birth, medical history, diagnoses and treatments, medications and prescriptions, patient health questionnaires, pathology and diagnostic test results, notes from doctors and specialists, appointment details and schedules, emergency contacts and next of kin.
It is understood that not each impacted patient had the same data breached.
Confirming that the breached data had been published, Genea chief executive Tim Yeoh said: 'The publication has occurred on a part of the dark web, which is a hidden part of the internet.'
'This data is not readily searchable or accessible.'
Genea says it has now 'concluded its investigation' into the incident.
'We are now starting to communicate with individuals about the findings from our investigation that are relevant to them, and the steps and support measures in place to help them protect their personal information,' a Genea spokesperson told The Nightly.
'Genea expects to communicate with all impacted individuals over the coming weeks.
'We deeply regret that personal information was accessed and published and sincerely apologise for any concern this incident may have caused.'
Emails sent to patients also included an apology, where Genea said: 'We unreservedly apologise for any distress that this may cause you.'
It is understood this communication began up to two weeks ago, with many patients impacted speaking about about the ordeal.
'There is genetic information which really affects my family. There is information about mental health. It's your whole history,' the
ABC
reported a former patient saying after the received an email.
Another impacted patient said they couldn't understand what Genea had been doing in the five months between the hack and the individual emails to those affected.
'The communication from Genea on this data breach has been appalling,' the woman told
News Corp
.
'We only found out about this data breach from an email notification at 11pm on last Friday, outside of business hours and telling impacted patients there was nobody available to respond to questions and concerns until 9am on Monday.
'The fact the breach occurred in February, and we are only now being notified, five months on, for the very first time that sensitive information such as our driver's licence, Medicare number, private health insurance number, all of which can be used for identify fraud, was stolen and is on the dark web is utterly unacceptable.
'What have they been doing for the past five months?'
Genea has set up a 'dedicated call centre and email service' to offer 'support' to those impacted.
'We have partnered with IDCARE, Australia's national identity and cyber support service, which provides counselling and other services at no cost if patients wish to seek further support,' the cyber incident page on the Genea website says.
It also tells impacted patients to 'be extra careful' with suspicious emails, texts or calls and 'remain vigilant' as identity theft could occur.
Genea say there was no evidence the hackers stole financial information such as credit card details or bank account numbers.
An international ransomware group published what it claimed was a sample of the confidential data after the attack forced Genea to shut down for several days.
The group claiming responsibility reportedly posted screenshots on dark net sites, boasting it had captured hundreds of gigabytes of patient data dating back more than five years.
'We understand this news may be concerning for you,' Mr Yeo wrote to customers in the latest round of communication.
Genea has not said how many customers have been impacted, claiming they are unable to provide this information due to an ongoing AFP investigation.
Mr Yeo said Genea had undertaken a comprehensive analysis of the published stolen details to identify those impacted by the breach and the personal information relating to them.
The provider has been granted a court-ordered injunction to prevent anyone from accessing, using, disseminating or publishing any of the illegally obtained data.
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