What Happened?

Recently, Diabetes WA was attacked by an external entity which accessed personal records of patients including; names, addresses, date of birth, emails, phone numbers, marital status, Indigenous status, referring doctor, type of diabetes, and Medicare numbers. Hackers gained access through a single user account within Diabetes WA. This one access point allowed them to expose other accounts and records, emphasising the urgent need for tighter security measures.

What Can You Do?

Given that Medicare numbers were among the compromised data, we recommend that affected individuals obtain a new Medicare card number through MyGov or by contacting Services Australia. You can do this by –

• Signing in to your myGov account, selecting “Get a Replacement” and following the prompts; or
• Calling Services Australia on 132 011

You can also practice good digital hygiene by:

• Being wary of any calls or emails where people attempt to confirm your identity. Do not give out any personal information unless the contact has been orchestrated by you.
• If you start to receive unwanted telemarketing calls, consider registering your number with the ‘Do Not Call register’.

Protecting Your Identity and Personal Info

As the threat landscape continues to evolve, proactive cybersecurity measures like Identity Protection Advanced are paramount. With ID Protection Advanced, you can:

• Check to see if your data (email address, phone number, password, credit card) has been exposed in a leak, or is up for grabs on the dark web;
• Secure your social media accounts with our Social Media Account Monitoring tool, with which you’ll receive a personalized report;
• Receive the strongest tough-to-hack password suggestions and safely store your password in a secure vault;
• Enjoy a safer browsing experience, as Trend Micro checks websites and prevents trackers.

You can explore ID Protection Advanced’s features here.

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