Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) reports IT breach after five-month delay
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Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand is reporting details of a cybersecurity incident that occurred five months ago, involving unauthorized access to the IT system of its Central Region office. In October 2024, a malicious actor successfully breached the system, accessing and downloading both organizational and potentially sensitive staff information.
The compromised data includes:
- general occupational health
- safety information
- medical assessments
- health-related correspondence from between 2020 and 2024.
The number of affected individuals and the nature of the attack is not disclosed. The breach affects two Central region districts: Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley, and Wairarapa.
Te Whatu Ora has emphasized that "there is no evidence the impacted information has been shared by the malicious actor or posted online anywhere," though they continue to monitor the situation.
Both the Privacy Commissioner and New Zealand Police have been engaged following the incident, with law enforcement reportedly planning to file criminal charges against the suspected hacker.
