Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand is working to support Primary Health Organisation (PHO) Pinnacle Midlands Health Network as it manages a malicious cyber incident.

While Pinnacle is a private entity, Te Whatu Ora is assisting the organisation in their investigations and supporting their efforts to comply with relevant cybersecurity best practices and policies. Their systems are separate from those provided by Te Whatu Ora and there is no indication of a threat to Te Whatu Ora networks.

We were first notified of the incident on Wednesday 28 September 2022, and Pinnacle quickly acted to take all affected systems offline. This includes Pinnacle group regional offices, and some Primary Health Care Ltd (PHCL) practices across Tairāwhiti, Taranaki, Rotorua, Taupō-Tūrangi, Thames-Coromandel and Waikato.

Following an initial investigation, Pinnacle has confirmed that information has been accessed. At this point in time, Pinnacle cannot confirm the exact nature of data accessed.

Te Whatu Ora is conscious of the responsibilities to keep information and systems secure. Te Whatu Ora have a $74.5m, three year cyber security uplift programme of work to improve cyber security across the sector including working with PHOs on improving cyber security.

As a local health care network, Pinnacle has contingency processes in place which allow them to continue providing services during the response to this incident.