It’s being called the largest cyber attack in Newfoundland and Labrador history and now comes confirmation that the privacy of potentially thousands of health care staff and patients may have been compromised.
The breach, involving Eastern Health and Labrador Grenfell-Health has been confirmed as a result of the ongoing investigation into a major cyber attack that has paralyzed the health care system.
Health Minister John Haggie outlined the extent of the privacy breach in a news conference called late yesterday afternoon.
He says some personal information and personal health information has been accessed from the system. That includes current and former patients and employees dating back 14 years in Eastern Health and 9 years for Labrador-Grenfell Health.
Western Health appears to be unaffected and the investigation is ongoing to determine whether Central Health is affected.
Government officials remain guarded when it comes to the nature of the cyber attack or who might be responsible.
Premier Andrew Furey could not say the full extent of the cyber attack and could not confirm whether it involves ransomware.
He could not say how many patients or staff are affected by the breach.
Officials indicated it could be days, weeks or even months before things return to normal.
Justice and Public Safety Minister John Hogan says steps are being taken to contain and mitigate any access that has occurred.
That includes conversations with the Privacy Commissioner, cyber security experts, and RCMP.
Hogan says it’s important to stay vigilent when it comes to cyber security and offered some tips to those who may be affected.
While there’s no reason to believe that the data has been misused, but precautionary steps should be taken including making contact with credit reporting companies in Canada to get your credit report and determine whether an identity theft has taken place. He says it’s also wise to review your banking information on a regular basis.
Peope are also being encouraged to change their passwords.
Eastern Health has been able to resume chemotherapy for cancer patients in the last few days.
CEO David Diamond says it remains one of their priorities.
Since last Thursday they’ve been able to resume chemotherapy by finding some workarounds, and while they are still catching up, Diamond says cancer care remains a key priority as systems come back on.