ACT’s Health spokesperson Brooke van Velden Party has today successful triggered an urgent debate in Parliament about the cyber security breaches at Waikato Hospital.

It follows documents from Waikato District Health Board being released onto the dark web after the ransomware attack that crippled five hospitals' IT systems in May.

“What’s happened at Waikato is not the first cyber security breach that has impacted the government and has impacted public trust,” says Ms van Velden.

“The pattern was first seen in the Reserve Bank attack and then the NZX in February.

“This pattern is quickly eroding trust in government to get it right and keep data secure

“If something is not done to secure our critical infrastructure this will cause long term damage to public confidence

“This also has a significant impact on businesses confidences as overseas businesses will not come and invest in New Zealand if this pattern continues in the way it has been.

“We need better reporting systems on cyber security threats to keep New Zealanders safe.

“ACT’s health policies include a national integrated IT system across the public healthcare system.

“We would engage the private sector to help develop the best possible defence against cyber-attacks, look overseas and base our cyber security systems on world-leading countries to ensure New Zealanders can have confidence that their private data is protected.

“New Zealanders deserve peace of mind when it comes to their private information.”

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