Finn
Blackwell, Reporter
The Health Minister
has described the breach of private health records as
concerning, but says there’s no clinical impact on patient
care as a result.
The country’s largest patient
information portal, ManageMyHealth, confirmed on Wednesday
it had identified
a cyber security incident involving “unauthorised access” to
its platform.
Roughly 1.8 million people are
registered on the ManageMyHealth portal. The company said
between six and seven percent may be affected.
A cyber
crime group claiming to have the data was demanding
$60,000 ransom by 15 January.
Health Minister
Simeon Brown said government agencies were working with
ManageMyHealth to fully understand the scope of the breach
and to protect the privacy of patients.
“This is a
concerning breach of patient data and Health NZ is working
closely with ManageMyHealth to ensure it is being
appropriately addressed,” he said.
“At this stage,
there is no evidence any Health NZ systems, including My
Health Account, have been compromised as ManageMyHealth has
separate systems.”
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Brown was expecting a co-ordinated
and robust response.
“I expect ManageMyHealth will
continue to keep the public informed as more verified
information becomes available and will put appropriate
measures in place to ensure patient safety and privacy are
protected and given the highest priority.”
The Office
of the Privacy Commissioner has said it will help
ManageMyHealth to notify those affected by the
breach.
“Given the highly sensitive nature of health
information, we will be working closely with them as they
step through the complex process of notifying affected
individuals,” a spokesperson said.
“Our initial focus
in this situation is to support [ManageMyHealth], and it is
too early to anticipate what if any further action [the
Office of the Privacy Commissioner] might take.”
But
Labour Party health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said
users had every right to be concerned over the
breach.
She said ManageMyHealth users should have been
contacted directly much
sooner.
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