The government is confirming that personal information of health care employees and patients is now in the hands of cyber criminals.

Up until Wednesday of last week, it was believed the personal and health information of thousands of patients and staff was only accessed or viewed.

But Justice Minister John Hogan now says that changed late Friday with confirmation that information was in fact “taken.”

He’s says in the context of cyber crime that means the hackers had the ability to view and copy the information.

Hogan added there are backups to prevent information from being lost or stolen for good.

Hogan says Western Health still appears to be the only one of the province’s four health authorities not affected by the cyberattack.

But he reiterated that the situation can change by the minute, adding it can take some time to verify what’s occurring due to the complex nature of the investigation.

The most up-to-date information on the cyberattack can be found here.