The MediSecure Hack and What It Means for Australian Accounting Firms

Within the last 24 hours Australians have been rocked once again by the notification that e-script provider MediSecure has been at the center of a large-scale ransomware data breach.  

At the point of this article’s publication, the exact data which has been compromised is not yet known, nor is the scale of what data has been breached.   

Although this attack takes place in the healthcare sector, we predict it will have large-scale ramifications for accountants, the financial sector and businesses across all sectors.  

The number of cyberattacks is increasing in Australia, and a number of high-profile cases have hit the media over the last year. Here at Practice Protect we are anticipating, and call, for the Federal Government to act to protect the data of Australians.  

What we are seeing on the front-line of cyber-defense for accounting firms is a steady increase in attempts to breach accounting firms. Within the last month alone we saw over 26,000 direct malicious attacks on our clients alone, which we can confirm were 100% neutralized. This number is steadily increasing.  

Criminals are getting more brazen, and we saw a record number of malware attack attempts last month for our clients.  

It is time the Australian Government act in the best interests of Australians and Businesses. Right now, the government only offers guidance and recommendations on what companies should be doing in relation to cyber security. The only legislation around mandatory cyber security requirements is around critical infrastructure. This does not go far enough in protecting Australians and businesses from cyber security threats.  

Here at Practice Protect we encourage all accountants and bookkeepers, who have and access sensitive client data, to be proactive in their cyber security efforts. A data breach where client data is lost could end up costing you clients and maybe even your business.