WELLINGTON, Jan 5 : New Zealand’s well being ministry will look into the reason for a cybersecurity breach of a privately owned web site, which hosts medical information for roughly a 3rd of the nation’s inhabitants and what further protections are wanted, the authorities mentioned Monday.
The assessment would assess how the hackers have been capable of acquire entry, examine the info protections in place and suggest enhancements, Minister of Health Simeon Brown mentioned in an announcement.
“Patient data is incredibly personal and whether it is held by a public agency or a private company, it must be protected to the highest of standards,” Brown mentioned. “We must learn from this incident.”
The web site, Manage My Health, is used by many well being centres in New Zealand and permits sufferers and suppliers to entry medical information, lab outcomes, e book appointments and order prescriptions.
Auckland-owned Manage My Health mentioned in a assertion {that a} cybersecurity incident on December 30 meant that well being paperwork from roughly 6 per cent to 7 per cent of the 1.8 million registered customers could have been compromised. The gaps that allowed unauthorised entry are actually mounted, it mentioned.
New Zealand newspaper The Post reported {that a} $60,000 ransom had been demanded to stop the discharge of the paperwork.