Dunedin-based health technology firm ZenTech has suffered a major health data breach, it has been confirmed.

Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) issued a statement on Thursday afternoon which said it was supporting Zenith Technology (ZenTech) with its response to a cyber incident. “ZenTech has also engaged specialist cyber forensic support,” the statement said. 

  • Are you affected? Email: matthew.littlewood@odt.co.nz

ZenTech is a privately owned and operated Dunedin-based contract research organisation involved in clinical-trial related work with Health New Zealand and the wider health sector.

“Health NZ was made aware of the incident after files attributed to ZenTech were identified online,” an HNZ spokesman said.

“There is no impact on Health NZ digital systems, and hospitals and primary care providers are operating as normal.

“We recognise the public interest in this incident and the concern cyber events can cause. Our priority is to ensure the response is thorough, coordinated and based on verified information.”

HNZ did not say how many and what kind of files were affected, but mentioned that 

“the right agencies and specialist experts are involved, and the situation is being actively managed through established national incident response protocols”.

“This is also an ongoing Police investigation, and there are limits to what can be said publicly while the investigation and related forensic work continue.”

If any information was confirmed that indicates risk to individuals, Health New Zealand would work with the impacted organisation and relevant agencies to “ensure appropriate steps are taken to notify and support those affected”.

Health Minister Simeon Brown had been made aware of the incident and  was “continuing to receive regular updates”, a spokeswoman said.