by Matt Walsh
CANBERRA, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government is doing "absolutely everything possible" to protect its citizens' private data, after it was revealed that Australians' universal healthcare data was on sale on the dark web.
On Tuesday, an investigation undertaken by the Guardian Australia reported that private Medicare data was being sold online on the dark web by a vendor claiming to have "exploited a vulnerability" in the federal government's online servers.
The online vendor claims to have sold the details of at least 75 Australians, while a journalist for Guardian Australia claimed to have purchased his own details from the seller for 22 U.S. dollars.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Australia's Human Services Minister Alan Tudge said the revelations have "been referred to the Australian Federal Police (AFP)."
"I have received assurances that the data obtained by the journalist was not sufficient to access any personal health record," Tudge said.
"Any apparent unauthorized access to Medicare card numbers is nevertheless of great concern.
"I can confirm that investigations into activities on the dark web occur continually. The security of data is a serious matter."
Expanding on the matter when speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer Michael Sukkar said he was "very confident" that citizens' data was secure.
"We take extraordinarily seriously the data that we hold in relation to individuals that obviously we collect in order to service them through government programs, and it's very alarming if that data is making its way into hands that it shouldn't," Sukkar told Sky News on Tuesday.
"I'm very confident that the protection of data and cybersecurity is being ably led by (Cyber Security Minister) Dan Tehan, and it's something that this government takes very seriously."
However the minister admitted the government needed to be prepared for attempted breaches more often in the future, as the private data of citizens continues to be moved and stored online.
"This is going to be an ongoing issue as more and more of our information is ultimately collected and stored online, government are going to need to be much better at protecting that data," Sukkar said.
The ad, which is called "Medicare Machine," uses the Department of Human Services' logo and has sold at least 75 sets of details since October.
According to the ad, the seller is "exploiting a vulnerability which has a much more solid foundation which means not only will it be a lot faster and easier for myself, but it will be here to stay."
"Purchase this listing and leave the first and last name, and (date of birth) of any Australian citizen, and you will receive their Medicare patient details in full," the ad said.
Spokesperson for the opposition Brendan O'Connor said the government needed to come clean about the security of citizens' private data, adding that there was "some explaining to do" by the government on this issue.
