Australia's Medibank slapped with class action over cyber incident (updated)

Omni Bridgeway

07/02/2023 08:21

(Adds details on lawsuit, background on hack)
       Feb 7 (Reuters) - Australian health insurer Medibank
Private Ltd  MPL.AX  said on Tuesday a class action suit had
been filed against it over last year's cybercrime incident that
compromised personal information of 10 million current and
former customers.
    The proceedings were filed in an Australian court by law
firm Baker & McKenzie, representing current and former Medibank
customers affected by the incident. The class action alleges
breach of contract and contraventions of Australian consumer
law.    
    Medibank said it would defend its position.
    In October, the insurer said its systems had been accessed
by a hacker, and personal data of current and former customers
had been accessed. Personal information, including medical
records, was later released onto a dark web forum.
    Omni Bridgeway  OBL.AX , a firm engaged in arbitration
financing, said it was funding the suit on a "no win, no pay"
basis, and at no cost to those filing the class action.
    Baker & McKenzie did not immediately respond to a Reuters
request for comment.
 (Reporting by Harshita Swaminathan; Editing by Savio D'Souza
and Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((Harshita.Swaminathan@thomsonreuters.com;))