The Opposition parties say they’re surprised that the personal information accessed during the recent cyberattack was not protected by encryption software.

That was revealed during Wednesday’s briefing on the attack that affects thousands of patients and staff of Eastern Health and Labrador-Grenfell Health.

Both the Tories and NDP held media briefings this morning to discuss the situation.

NDP interim leader Jim Dinn notes the simplest online transactions are safeguarded by encryption, which scrambles algorythms, making it harder to hack.

He notes online payments, for example, do have that extra layer of protection, adding he’s concerned that wasn’t the case here.

Meanwhile, PC interim leader David Brazil says while the province won’t say which world-class experts they’re dealing with, it’s curious that local firm Verafin isn’t among them.

He says he’s surprised and disappointed that the government didn’t reach out to Verafin, or at least consult them on the best immediate course of action, given their status in the world of cyber-security.

The government says anyone who registered at a hospital in the Eastern Health region in the past 14 years could be affected by the privacy breach.

It goes back nine years for anyone in the Labrador-Grenfell Health region.

Officials are urging people to check bank accounts, change passwords and consult with credit reporting agencies to ensure they have not been victimized.

EARLIER STORY

The Leader of the provincial PC Party says the primary objective right now is about addressing the backlog in the province’s healthcare system.

David Brazil says the investigation into the cyber attack should be left to professionals both nationally and internationally, but with first Snowmaggeddon, then the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the cyber attack, the backlogs in healthcare must be addressed.

He says right now, the Opposition is not here to oppose in any way, shape or form.

(Brazil explains that they are there to support whatever needs to be done with the health authorities and for government. He says if they want to go back into the House of Assembly to discuss additional funds to ensure people have access to treatments like cancer and cardiovascular interventions.

He says their priority is to work with all the entities involved to make sure the healthcare system gets up and running as normal as it can.

The PC Party leader says they’ll get back to politics when it’s time, but right now it’s about ensuring the people of the province are safe and have access to healthcare.