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\nNational Secretary for PSA Fleur Fitzsimons is calling on the Privacy Commissioner to reconsider investigating the impact of cuts to Health NZ’s digital services workforce.
\nPhoto: RNZ \/ Samuel Rillstone\n<\/p>\n
The Public Service Association (PSA) says the security breach at privately run ManageMyHealth highlights the risk of cutting IT experts in public health.<\/p>\n
It said the government had “blundered” when they cut off the jobs of many IT experts “safeguarding the public health system”.<\/p>\n
ManageMyHealth confirmed last week<\/a> it had identified a security incident involving “unauthorised access” to its platform. It believed between 6 and 7 percent of the approximately 1.8 million registered users may have been impacted.<\/p>\n PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the breach was a “wake-up call for the entire health sector in New Zealand”.<\/p>\n “We have seen it before in the public health system with the Waikato Hospital ransomware attack in 2021<\/a>, and yet this government failed to heed that lesson in forcing Health NZ to cut the jobs of experts running digital services.<\/p>\n “The risks are too high to play fast and loose with data systems – it’s a ticking time bomb.”<\/p>\n She said hospitals were using outdated systems but no longer had experts who could understand their weaknesses<\/p>\n Fitzsimons called on the privacy commissioner to reconsider a previous request by the PSA to investigate the impact of cuts to Health NZ’s digital services workforce.<\/p>\n Independent review floated<\/p>\n