THREE doctors' surgeries in the King Country are part of Pinnacle Health, a health network that was attacked in a cyber security event last week. FILE PHOTO
THE health network company to which three King Country GP practices belong to has fallen victim to a cybersecurity attack, but it’s unknown what the consequences are likely to be. Last Wednesday some of Pinnacle Midlands Health Network’s information technology services were targeted in a cyber-attack, including those in primary health care practices in Waikato and other central North Island regions. Three health centres in the King Country belong to the Pinnacle Health network: Ōtorohanga Medical, Te Kūiti Medical Centre and Kāwhia Health Centre. Pinnacle Incorporated CEO Justin Butcher on Tuesday said it appeared that before the affected IT was taken offline and contained last week, the hackers accessed information from the system, which could include commercial and personal details. NOT ACCESSIBLE He assured personal medical records were not accessible by the hackers. “We do not hold your GP notes, these are kept by your individual medical centres. “Things like your notes made during consultations are not at risk. “However, we do have some personal information such as names, addresses and NHI numbers.” Justin warned patients should be vigilant of any unusual online activity, but he did not know exactly what the attackers were doing. As investigations were still underway Justin could not confirm what specific data or information may have been accessed but said the company was working to find that out. “Our systems flagged the incident with us, and we were able to move swiftly to take the affected IT offline. “We engaged external support partners and launched an in-depth investigation alongside relevant authorities. “We have also laid a complaint with the police and are working alongside Te Whatu Ora and a number of other government agencies. RIGHTFULLY CONCERNED “We know that people will rightfully be very concerned about this, and we want to assure the public that Pinnacle takes our role as stewards of people’s information seriously, and security is of utmost importance to us.” The Privacy Commissioner had been notified of the issue and Justin said work was being done to understand exactly what happened and who has been impacted. Kāwhia Health Centre owner Dr John Burton said he did not know about the situation prior to Tuesday afternoon and it was business as usual at the clinic. Te Kūiti Medical Centre and Ōtorohanga Medical could not be reached for comment. Pinnacle has engaged the services of IDCARE, New Zealand’s national identity and cyber support community service. Its services are free to New Zealanders in providing specialist support to individuals who believe they are at heightened risk due to the exposure of their information. IDCARE case managers can be engaged via their online Get Help for Individuals booking form at idcare.org and by using the referral code PBN22 when prompted. IDCARE’s national support number is 0800 121 068 and is active from 9am to 7pm NZDT Monday to Friday. MINDFUL The organisation was mindful that scammers sometimes impersonated organisations to elicit further details and access from their community. “If you receive a text, phone call or email from an organisation, such as law enforcement, your bank or Government, we advise you to make your own enquiries first before responding to any demands placed on you (including clicking any links or providing your identity or account information),” was their advice.
