New Zealand court blocks publication of hacked medical records

The New Zealand High Court has issued an injunction preventing access or publication of stolen patient records after a breach of the Manage My Health portal; about 127,000 patients are reported as potentially affected.

The New Zealand High Court has issued an urgent injunction to limit further spread of stolen patient medical records. The order bars anyone from accessing, storing, broadcasting or publishing the material. The files were taken from the Manage My Health patient portal, which is widely used in the country. Officials say a substantial number of private patient records were involved in the incident. Key facts: - The High Court injunction prevents access, storage, broadcasting or publication of the stolen medical files. - The breach involved roughly 430,000 private patient documents on the Manage My Health portal, with about 127,000 patients reported as potentially impacted; the portal serves about 1.8 million users. - Health Minister Simeon Brown has commissioned the Ministry of Health to review the response to the Manage My Health cyber-security breach. Summary: The injunction is intended to limit further dissemination of sensitive patient information and to restrict public access to the stolen material. A ministerial review has been ordered to examine the response to the breach. Further legal and procedural steps are undetermined at this time.