Medibank shares dip amid fresh legal proceedings
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More news: Shares in Medibank dipped on the ASX after the privacy regulator filed civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against the insurer, in relation to a data breach in October 2022.
Medibank shares were down 1.5% to $3.70 by 12:55pm AEST.
Medibank said in an announcement to the ASX that it intended to defend proceedings.
Privacy regulator takes Medibank to court over data breach
The news: The privacy regulator has filed civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Medibank Private in relation to the health insurer's October 2022 data breach.
The numbers: The Australian Information Commissioner has alleged that Medibank seriously interfered with the privacy of 9.7 million customers from March 2021 to October 2022, by failing to take reasonable steps to protect their personal information from misuse and unauthorised access.
The Federal Court can impose a civil penalty of up to $2.22 million for each contravention of section 13G of the Privacy Act 1988.
The context: The proceedings follow an investigation launched by the regulator in December 2022 after Medibank was the subject of a cyber attack in which personal information of millions of current and former customers was accessed and released on the dark web.
Medibank is also facing a separate civil class action lawsuit before the Federal Court of Australia, as well as shareholder class claims before the Supreme Court of Victoria.
What they said: “We allege Medibank failed to take reasonable steps to protect personal information it held given its size, resources, the nature and volume of the sensitive and personal information it handled, and the risk of serious harm for an individual in the case of a breach,” acting commissioner Elizabeth Tydd said in a statement.
The sources: OAIC, ASX announcement
