As part of the on-going investigation into a cyberattack that impacted health care IT systems in Newfoundland and Labrador, it has been determined that some personal information and personal health information was accessed from the systems.
The appropriate authorities have been contacted, including the Newfoundland and Labrador Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. The RCMP have been notified and are continuing to investigate the incident. All government entities involved are cooperating fully with the authorities.
While the investigation is ongoing and information may change, it has been identified that some personal information is involved, as follows:
- Some information about current and former employees and patients of:
- Eastern Health from approximately the last 14 years.
- Labrador Grenfell Health for approximately the last nine years.
- Impacts to Central Health data are under investigation.
- There is currently no evidence of data being accessed relating to Western Health employees or patients.
- There is currently no evidence of information being accessed relating to employees of the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information.
- Employee information involved may include: names, addresses, contact information and Social Insurance Numbers (SIN).
- There is no evidence that banking information of employees was involved.
- In addition, it is known that some patient information is involved which is comprised of basic information that is typically logged and used when a person comes for an appointment, such as name, address, health care number (MCP), reason for visit, their doctor, phone number, birth date, email address for notifications, in-patient/out-patient, maiden name, marital status.
- At this time, there is no evidence of vendor information being accessed in this incident.
A review is ongoing to determine if any other information is affected in the incident and further updates will be provided as appropriate.
We will be providing credit monitoring services. Options are currently being explored and we will have more information on this in the days ahead.
Everyone is encouraged to remain vigilant regarding your information. If you notice any unusual activity in any of your accounts or your account statements, please contact your service providers, such as your bank, as soon as possible.
Please go here https://www.gov.nl.ca/hcs/information-and-updates-on-cyber-incident/ for more information. A provincial call centre number has also been established at 1-833-718-3021 and will be operational as of 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.
Further steps you can take to protect your information can be found in the backgrounder below.
The continued patience of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians is appreciated, as systems and operations are restored in a safe and secure manner. Efforts to restore health care IT systems continue in collaboration with the Department of Health and Community Services, Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information (NLCHI) and the Regional Health Authorities (RHAs).
Updates will continue to be provided as well as next steps in the process, as they become available.
