Ochre Health investigation into online data claims

Ochre Medical Centre Tuggeranong is currently investigating online claims by an unknown third party that they have accessed some of our information without authorisation.

While the investigation is still in its early stages, we can confirm two Ochre Health HotDoc user accounts were logged into by an unknown third party. The incident was quickly contained, with activity limited to these Ochre Health accounts.

The unknown third party no longer has access and Ochre Health’s broader IT environment remains secure and unaffected.

Our clinics and medical centres are operating as normal with zero disruption to patient care. Ochre Health is working to verify what specific information within HotDoc has been accessed, so it can inform potentially impacted patients.

From the claims published online, we understand that some company information, including patient records, may have been impacted. Based on the information available at this stage, we understand that only the Tuggeranong medical centre has been impacted.

We understand this news may cause concern and wish to assure our patients that we are investigating this as a priority, including a review of our security systems as a precautionary measure.

We recommend that our patients remain vigilant against the risk of potential phishing emails or scam calls, which are often the most likely risk associated with unauthorised access to contact information.

We provide some cyber safety guidance at the end of this statement which outlines some steps our patients may want to take as a precautionary measure.

We take cyber security seriously and are committed to keeping all our patients updated as we work to respond to this incident.

We are also liaising with the relevant authorities including the Office of the Australian Privacy Commissioner (OAIC) as well as the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) in response to this incident alongside various experts across the cyber security industry.

We would like to assure our patients that we are taking all appropriate steps to remediate this situation as swiftly as possible and have also implemented sophisticated monitoring systems to ensure we are aware of any further developments.

We understand this news may cause concern to our patients and would like to thank them for their ongoing support as we work to resolve this as swiftly as possible.

If you have any questions, our dedicated support team can be contacted by email on [email protected]

Cyber safety guidance

There are steps you can take to help protect yourself against scams:

• being aware of email, telephone and text-based scams and refraining from sharing personal information unless you are certain about who you are sharing it with;
• checking your email for suspicious activity for example, you are locked out of your account, find strange emails in your sent folder, or receive password change notifications;
• periodically changing your passwords;
• using a password manager for remembering multiple account passwords;
• enabling multi-factor authentication for your online accounts where possible and ensuring you have up-to-date anti-virus software installed on any device you use to access your online accounts;
• avoiding clicking on links in suspicious text messages or emails;
• not responding to phone calls asking for remote access to your computer;
• checking your bank accounts for strange or unusual activity and contacting your bank immediately if you see anything suspicious.

More information is available here:

• Australian Cyber Security Centre: https://www.cyber.gov.au/learn-basics.
• Act Now, Stay Secure: https://www.actnowstaysecure.gov.au.
• Scamwatch: https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/get-help/protect-yourself-from-scams.
• ID Support NSW: https://www.nsw.gov.au/id-support-nsw/be-prepared
• Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/your-privacy-rights/data-breaches/Identity-fraud.

Update #4 18.06.26