St Vincent's Health Australia

Summary

St Vincent's Health Australia, a national Catholic healthcare provider operating public and private hospitals across multiple states, detected a cyber security incident on 19 December 2023. Forensic investigation found that approximately 4.3 gigabytes of system and network credential data was stolen, though no evidence of sensitive personal information theft was found. The attack was contained by 20 December 2023.

What Happened

St Vincent's Health Australia began responding to a cyber security incident on Tuesday, 19 December 2023. On the evening of Thursday, 21 December, the organisation found evidence that cyber criminals had removed approximately 4.3 gigabytes of data from their network prior to 19 December. The stolen data consisted of system configuration data and network credential information.

The threat actor used anti-forensic measures to obscure their activities, making the investigation complex and time-consuming. St Vincent's immediately took steps to contain the incident and engaged external cyber security experts. No new activity by the threat actor has been detected inside St Vincent's networks since early morning Wednesday, 20 December.

Impact on Individuals

The forensic investigation found that the stolen data was system and network credential data, with no evidence that sensitive personal information such as patient records or employee personal details was stolen. Whilst the investigation was ongoing, St Vincent's could not completely rule out the possibility that some personal information may have been accessed, though no evidence of such access was found.

Organisational Response

St Vincent's Health Australia notified all relevant state and federal governments and regulatory agencies, including the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the National Cyber Security Coordinator, the Australian Federal Police, and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. The organisation engaged CyberCX, a leading cyber security firm, to conduct a comprehensive forensic investigation.

St Vincent's implemented containment measures and worked to secure their systems whilst continuing to provide healthcare services to patients. The organisation maintained transparency with staff, patients, and the public throughout the incident response process.