A cybersecurity breach in May exposed sensitive data held by the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in British Columbia, including personal health details and insurance records, noted the FNHA after completing its investigation.
As reported by The Canadian Press, the authority confirmed this week that unauthorized parties accessed a range of personal information including full names, residential and email addresses, personal health numbers, and insurance claim records.
In some cases, the hackers also gained access to tuberculosis screening results.
In a statement, the FNHA revealed that the incident specifically affected First Nations individuals with a Certificate of Indian Status card who lived in the province around the time of the incident.
Those who had undergone tuberculosis screening in B.C. First Nations communities prior to March 29, 2016, might also be among those impacted by the data breach.
Meanwhile, it was highlighted that the cyberattack was detected and interrupted while it was happening to limit any damage.
FNHA chief executive Richard Jock emphasized that cybersecurity remains a critical focus for the authority as threats become more advanced and frequent.
As part of its response, the authority is offering affected individuals a two-year credit monitoring service to mitigate potential risks for those whose status card numbers were compromised.
As of this writing, FNHA’s website is not accessible.
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