Victorian hospital provider suffers alleged data breach Information Age ACS

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By Leonard Bernardone on Jun 10 2025 1055 AM
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ppVictorian private hospital group Epworth Healthcare has been caught in an alleged data breach after a ransomware outfit leaked 40 gigabytes of allegedly stolen data to the dark webppOn Tuesday morning ransomware gang Global Group dropped a dataset that appeared to contain sensitive information related to Epworth Healthcare Melbourne Private Hospital Epworth Hospital in Richmond and Royal Melbourne HospitalppAmong the purportedly stolen data was doctor letters to patients appointments information surgery lists and results medical imaging files invoices internal payroll data database logs droves of hospital booking forms from 2018 to 2025 across Melbourne Private Hospital and Epworth Hospital in RichmondppSome folders were meanwhile dedicated to the Royal Melbourne Hospital containing alleged data for cases leave forms and patient resultsppSpeaking with Information Age last week a member of Global Group confirmed they had targeted Epworth Healthcare with ransomwareppWe took around 40GB and they were encrypted said the anonymous hackerppOn Thursday however an Epworth Healthcare spokesperson said there was no breach of its systems whatsoeverppEpworth HealthCare has completed a thorough investigation supported by independent cybersecurity specialists into claims made yesterday afternoon on the dark web alleging an IT compromise they saidppEpworths IT systems have not been breached or compromisedppNo data stored within Epworths IT environments has been accessed lost or alteredppAccording to the spokesperson early investigations indicated the ransomware claims may have related to a third party that is not connected to Epworths IT environmentppMeanwhile Global Group threat actors displayed a weeklong countdown timer for the release of alleged Epworth data to their dark web blogppWhen that timer expired Tuesday Global Group published what appeared to be a compromised file tree stolen from a system which held Epworth datappAlongside consent files medical scans and other sensitive patient data the allegedly hacked system appeared to contain default Windows folders such as My Music and My PicturesppProactive monitoring remains in place and relevant state and federal authorities have been notified an Epworth Healthcare spokesperson said ThursdayppWe will provide further updates should new verified information emergeppEpworth is Victorias largest notforprofit private hospital group providing diagnosis treatment care and rehabilitation services at 10 sites and hospitals across Melbourne and GeelongppEpworth Healthcare has been asked whether the allegedly leaked data is legitimate but did not respond prior to publicationppOn 7 June Global Group added two new Victorian healthcare entities to its dark web blog Ascot Vale Health Group and Mildurabased Deakin Medical CentreppAt the time of writing Global Group listed countdown timers for both local practices which threatened to publish their stolen data within 24 hoursppGlobal Group did not specify what data it allegedly stole while neither healthcare provider responded to Information Age prior to publicationppVictorian healthcare comprised three of Global Groups nine targets to date with the hacking group boasting other victims in the UK US and BrazilppOther than a seemingly AIgenerated dramatised video which Global released to promote its services little is known about the newlyformed ransomware group and its membersppThe group has claimed to offer the fastest and most customisable ransomware locker on the criminal market boasted new attacks every single day and promoted an AIpowered support tool for future affiliates to conduct ransom negotiationsppAustralian healthcare remains a soft targetppEpworths alleged data breach marks the latest in a long line of attacks targeting Australian healthcare following incidents at the likes of IVF provider Genea Fertility Australia prescriptions company MediSecure and hospital operator St Vincents Health AustraliappIndeed recent statistics from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner revealed that of the 1113 data breach notifications it received last year the health sector reported the most breaches accounting for 20 per cent of themppJason Murrell cofounder of cybersecurity advocacy and growth champion Australian Cyber Network ACN said Australias healthcare sector has been a soft target for many years with patient records fetching a real premium on the dark webppHospitals are under pressure to keep systems online all while their budgets are being slashed said MurrellppThis makes them more likely to pay up in an attempt to avoid devastating disruptionsppMurrell added that domestic healthcares legacy infrastructure underinvestment in cyber and stretched workforce have led to conditions which are ripe for ransomware actorsppMurrell noted Victorian healthcare in particular is grossly underfundedppAdd in the fact that healthcare providers often work across disjointed and archaic systems and youve got a sector thats been both highly exposed and poorly defended for years he saidppIn January the Australian government granted 64 million to kickstart a new cyber threatsharing network between organisations in the health sectorp