Police in New South Wales, Australia's largest state, have opened an investigation into a breach of the website of the Oral Health Fee For Service Scheme, a state health ministry program that funds private dental treatment for some patients. According to ABC, NSW Health reported on October 29 that it had discovered unauthorized access to the site.
According to police estimates, the attackers stole about 4GB of data, most of it details of dentists participating in the program rather than patients. According to officials, the breach affected an isolated server, not NSW Health's wider systems.
Even when stolen data doesn't include patients' medical details, such breaches are dangerous. Professionals' details can be used for fraud, impersonation and targeted phishing against clinics, which themselves hold sensitive medical data. Health systems worldwide are a favored target for attackers because they hold valuable data and don't always invest enough in security.
In Israel too, the health system has suffered several serious cyberattacks in recent years, including hospital shutdowns. The lesson from Australia is that even peripheral systems, such as a funding program's website, are a possible way in and need protecting like core systems.
