14 Oct 2022 | Asia Cyber Summary

In the spotlight this week:

• More Than 5,000 Phishing Emails Impersonating Case Officers Sent After Cyber Attack
• Singtel's Second Unit, Dialog, Faces Cyber Attack Weeks After Optus Data Breach
• Indian Cyber Security Ruling Deadline May be Extended Again
• Australia’s Medibank Reports Cyber Incident, Shares on Trading Halt
• Patient Information Uploaded to Internet after Pinnacle Health Cyber Attack

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More Than 5,000 Phishing Emails Impersonating Case Officers Sent After Cyber Attack

The Consumer Association of Singapore (Case) fell victim to a cyber attack campaign where two of its mailboxes were hacked and used for phishing scams, by impersonation of its officers. These mailboxes are primarily used to handle customers who have lodged complaints or those who have their complaints escalated to mediation. These phishing emails were sent to more than 5,000 consumers informing them that they had to make payments to receive monetary compensation. Consumers were first asked to participate in a live chat and were told to contact their banks to make transactions related to their complaints in order to receive monetary compensation. 

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Singtel Second Unit, Dialog, Faces Cyber Attack Weeks After Optus Data Breach

A second company owned by Singapore telecommunications firm, Singtel, has suffered a cyber attack that could potentially affect 1,000 current and former employees just weeks after its subsidiary Optus was hit by a massive cyber attack. Dialog is an Australian technology consulting firm who manages data systems independently from that of Singtel, NCS Group, and Optus. However, a second cyber attack on a Singtel-owned business raises questions about whether these attacks are deliberately aimed at the global conglomerate.

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Indian Cyber Security Ruling Deadline May be Extended Again

India’s cyber security compliance ruling is likely to be extended for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) yet again, following pushback from SMEs that they needed more time to ‘build capacity’. This is the second time the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)’s guidelines have been extended. Under this new ruling, all companies, intermediaries, data centers and government organizations are required to report data breaches to official government bodies within 6 hours of detection. The new guidelines also mandated that all virtual private network (VPN) service providers retain data on customers for at least five years, and are to present this information to the government when necessary. This move saw key VPN service providers exit the India market, causing significant disruption to SMEs.

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Australia’s Medibank Reports Cyber Incident, Shares on Trading Halt

Australian health insurer Medibank Private has isolated and removed access to its customer-facing systems after detecting unusual activity on its network. The firm has since taken immediate action to contain the incident and engaged specialized cyber security firms to conduct a thorough investigation. No evidence that any sensitive data has been accessed at the point of investigation. Medibank shares have also entered a trading halt as it awaits the results of the investigation of the cyber incident.

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Patient Information Uploaded to Internet after Pinnacle Health Cyber Attack

Patient Information from New Zealand health network, Pinnacle health has been targeted in a cyber attack which saw private patient information uploaded to the dark web. The compromised details were kept by Waikato and Plenty health provider Pinnacle, which operates dozens of practices across the island. The compromised data consists of past and present patients, and high level information related to the use of hospital services. This includes information on services provided, and data on immunization practices as well as screen status of individual patients.