“So tone deaf”: Karl loses it over Medibank bosses' massive bonuses
Karl Stefanovic has slammed the top bosses at Medibank after it has been revealed they will be taking home millions in bonuses amid the company’s cyber attack crisis.
While ten million of Medibank’s customers are learning whether their personal data has made it onto the dark web - and fork out cash to keep themselves safe - bosses will still be collecting a total of $7.3 million in bonuses.
Joel Andrews, one customer whose data has been stolen, told Today that “it’s disgusting” that bosses aren’t willing to give up their bonuses despite affected customers facing financial losses.
“I’m furious,” Andrews said.
“To think that it’s taken them a month to get this information out to us and say what’s been released, I understand it takes time to find these things out but it’s taken them that long.
“They promised early on that they would act quickly because it’s such a time-sensitive issue, and it feels like they have just left it up to them, on their timing.”
“I mean you’ve got the Medicare boss getting $1.5 million in bonuses last financial year,” co-host Ally Langdon said.
“He also receives 150 percent of his fixed salary in shares … it’s pretty tone deaf, isn’t it?”
“It’s disgusting,” Andrews replied.
"To think that all of the customers out there, ten million customers, if each of them have to pay for their own software to do data protection, losses to them are around $100 each,.
"That's a significant loss to each person and they are not willing to give up their bonuses."
Stefanovic, who found out he was also a victim of the attack just two days ago, said he had “no sympathy” for the company as it faces declining share prices and hefty costs as a result of the attack and agreed the bonuses were “disgusting”.
“It’s a failure across the board and they’re giving themselves bonuses,” the Today Show host said.
“It’s unbelievable.
"This is so tone deaf, it is one of the most tone deaf things I have seen a corporation do in Australia for a long, long time.”
The health insurance company has come under fire for how it handled the cyber attack, with customers’ data being leaked onto the dark web after it refused to pay a ransom and affected customers finding out if they’ve been targeted more than a month later.
As the Australian Federal Police continue their investigation into the attack, they have promised to take swift action against anyone who accesses the private data shared on the dark web.
Affected customers who aren’t happy with Medicare’s actions or its handling of the situation have also begun proceedings to file a lawsuit against the company.
Image: The Today Show