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Posted: 2022-12-03 22:52:36

Australian hospitals have been warned they could be forced to pay ransoms to criminals to keep patients safe as the cyber security threat escalates in the aftermath of "wake-up call" attacks.

The troubling warning is high on the list of predictions offered by cyber security experts heading into 2023 and in the wake of unprecedented hacks affecting millions of Medibank and Optus customers.

Global firm Palo Alto Networks suggests it is time hospitals, government services and businesses start discussing whether they would pay a ransom and how much they would fork out.

"What are your crown jewels and if someone wants to get access to that, how much is it worth to you?" says regional chief security officer Sean Duca.

"You've got people sitting mid-operation on an operating table and the systems around them can't actually work, do we just let the individual die because we don't want to pay the ransom?"

While Australians are increasingly aware of the consequences of cybercrime, there's not enough focus on its potential to cripple systems, Mr Duca warns.

As for organisations that refuse to believe they will be targeted: "It's a foreseeable event … and you're probably a little bit delusional."

'It's just the beginning'

Edith Cowan University senior computing and security lecturer Mohiuddin Ahmed shares the sentiment.

He not only predicts a rise in threats over the next year, he anticipates more attempts targeting Australia's critical infrastructure, with "highly digitised" hospital systems among the potential casualties.

It is "just the beginning" for cyber attempts and attacks, Dr Ahmed warns.

The recent Medibank and Optus hacks may drive criminals to consider where Australia has other vulnerabilities.

"We use lots of internet-connected healthcare devices and if those devices are hacked and remotely compromised by these cyber criminals, we'll be left in a situation where we have to pay ransom, otherwise people's lives will be at stake," he said.

"Imagine that for senior citizens using pacemakers or any other embedded or implanted devices.

"Who knows, if we do not pay attention, if we do not follow cyber hygiene, things [may] go catastrophic."

International hackers are preying on Australia partly because of its wealth and partly because it has been rendered vulnerable by the COVID pandemic, cost-of-living pressures and natural disasters including floods, Dr Ahmed says.

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