Office of the Privacy Commissioner | Waikato DHB cyber breach: Do the right thing with personal information
Privacy Commissioner John Edwards is advising people to do the right thing if they are sent or find personal information which might have come from the Waikato DHB ransomware breach.
Mr Edwards says he is aware that some patient, staff and other personal information has already been sent to a number of New Zealand media organisations.
He warns that the hackers responsible for taking patient and staff information from the DHB are likely to publish and circulate the information further.
“The information that has been taken is likely to be sensitive personal information. This is likely to be causing a great deal of anxiety to the people affected.
“It is vital that people respect the personal information of others. Treat the information as you would expect others to treat yours if it were disclosed to you. If you receive personal information which is about other people, you should inform the Ministry of Health and NZ Police.”
Mr Edwards says people should contact NZ Police and the Ministry of Health and get advice on whether to delete the information. But in the meantime, they should isolate the information and keep it secure until advised further.
ENDS
For further information please contact: Alix Chapman 021 509 389 or Charles Mabbett 021 509 735