The Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) share price will be one to watch carefully in the coming days.
This follows the release of an update on its cybersecurity incident after the market close today.
Why is the Medibank share price on watch?
Last week, Medibank revealed that it detected unusual activity on its network.
After taking immediate steps to contain the incident and engage specialised cyber security firms, the company stated that it didn't believe any customer data had been removed.
The company then went on to say that as a health company providing health insurance and health services, it holds a range of necessary personal information of customers. In light of this, it stressed that the protection of customers' data security is its highest priority.
Unfortunately, it may have failed with its highest priority, with the company no longer sure that customer data wasn't removed from its systems.
What's happened?
This afternoon, management revealed that it has received messages from a group that wishes to negotiate with the company regarding their alleged removal of customer data.
Medibank is treating the matter seriously and working urgently to establish if the claim is true.
As a result, the company has suspended its shares and they will remain that way until the matter is resolved.
Medibank's CEO, David Koczkar, commented:
I apologise and understand this latest distressing update will concern our customers. We have always said that we will prioritise responding to this matter as transparently as possible. "Our team has been working around the clock since we first discovered the unusual activity on our systems, and we will not stop doing that now. We will continue to take decisive action to protect Medibank customers, our people and other stakeholders.
