In vitro fertilisation — or IVF as it is commonly known — is becoming increasingly popular in Australia, with one in every 18 births now resulting from the treatment.
Australia witnessed a record number of data breaches in 2024, according to Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the privacy watchdog, with health service providers representing the highest number of breaches.
Meanwhile, the IVF industry is generating huge income.
Genea and two other companies — Monash IVF and Virtus — account for more than 80 per cent of the industry’s total revenue, which is predicted to reach $810 million this year.
Monash IVF was also the target of a malicious cyberattack in 2019, when its email server was breached and customers received scam emails appearing to be from the clinic.
Earlier this week, the company disclosed it had incorrectly transferred the wrong embryo to a patient, two months after a patient was mistakenly implanted with another customer’s embryo, prompting its CEO to step down.
Unlike financial fraud, where victims can demonstrate losses in dollar figures, the value placed on privacy is subjective.
Faith Gordon, an associate professor of law at the Australian National University, says people impacted by breaches can make legal claims for the breach itself as well as its impact.
As the number of data breaches continues to rise, Gordon says the need for a specific code for children’s privacy is vital.
“Children have very specific rights and very specific vulnerabilities, and these need to be protected, and they also need to be empowered to actually access justice when something does go wrong in this space as well.”
Source: Genea Fertility data leak: Blackmail risks loom over donors | SBS News