Cyberattack shuts down one-fifth of New Zealand's health services
Following the ransomware attack that disrupted the U.S. energy sector, there is another attack – this time, against the health sector of New Zealand
Ami Rojkes Dombe
| 27/05/2021
Photo: https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/members-of-parliament/little-andrew/
The health minister of New Zealand, Andrew Little. There are calls for his ouster because of the incident
A cyberattack against a main provider of health services in New Zealand, Waikato DHB, shut down a significant amount of the health services in the country. The incident is so serious that the government is considering transferring patients to Australia for hospitalization. The ransomware attack shut down about 700 servers in the government health system. The incident that started on the 18th of this month, about nine days ago, is not expected to end for several weeks.
According to a report by Waikato DHB, "This incident has affected services at Waikato, Te Kuiti, Taumarunui, Thames and Tokoroa hospitals and our community-based services. Staff are working around the clock to return us to business as usual. Due to the complexity of the incident, we are unable to say when this will be."
Waikato DHB serves a population of more than 425,000 and has an area of responsibility extending over 21,000km, with 59% of the patients living in urban areas and 41% living in rural areas. It is one of 20 health organizations in the country.
The ransomware, called Zeppelin, mostly uses a malicious Word document (phishing attack with an attachment). When opened, the document activates a macro script and installs the ransomware.
Following the incident, a meeting of the Officials' Committee for Domestic and External Security Coordination (ODESC) was held. It is a committee that is only assembled in times of national crisis. The ODESC, the primary committee of the national security system in the country, is assembled to respond to crises that pose a threat to the security, sovereignty or economy of New Zealand.
According to reports in New Zealand, personal information about patients was stolen during the attack. Following the attack, all of the 19 other health organizations in the country started to check their IT systems. In addition, there were calls for the resignation of the health minister, Andrew Little.
Following the ransomware attack that disrupted the U.S. energy sector, there is another attack – this time, against the health sector of New Zealand
Photo: https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/members-of-parliament/little-andrew/
The health minister of New Zealand, Andrew Little. There are calls for his ouster because of the incident
A cyberattack against a main provider of health services in New Zealand, Waikato DHB, shut down a significant amount of the health services in the country. The incident is so serious that the government is considering transferring patients to Australia for hospitalization. The ransomware attack shut down about 700 servers in the government health system. The incident that started on the 18th of this month, about nine days ago, is not expected to end for several weeks.
According to a report by Waikato DHB, "This incident has affected services at Waikato, Te Kuiti, Taumarunui, Thames and Tokoroa hospitals and our community-based services. Staff are working around the clock to return us to business as usual. Due to the complexity of the incident, we are unable to say when this will be."
Waikato DHB serves a population of more than 425,000 and has an area of responsibility extending over 21,000km, with 59% of the patients living in urban areas and 41% living in rural areas. It is one of 20 health organizations in the country.
The ransomware, called Zeppelin, mostly uses a malicious Word document (phishing attack with an attachment). When opened, the document activates a macro script and installs the ransomware.
Following the incident, a meeting of the Officials' Committee for Domestic and External Security Coordination (ODESC) was held. It is a committee that is only assembled in times of national crisis. The ODESC, the primary committee of the national security system in the country, is assembled to respond to crises that pose a threat to the security, sovereignty or economy of New Zealand.
According to reports in New Zealand, personal information about patients was stolen during the attack. Following the attack, all of the 19 other health organizations in the country started to check their IT systems. In addition, there were calls for the resignation of the health minister, Andrew Little.
