A cyber attack has blocked access to 14,500 coronial files and around 4000 post-mortem examination reports, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed this afternoon.
According to chief operating officer Carl Crafar, the attack did not target the ministry directly, but a third-party company that manages access to the information (now identified by the Privacy Commissioner).
“While the incident is related to an external supplier’s systems, the Ministry of Justice is working with the suppliers and other Government agencies, including the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Office of the Privacy Commissioner, Police, and CERT NZ to fully understand the extent of the issue,” Crafar said.
Although the attack has blocked the Ministry from accessing the data, there was no evidence at this stage that the data had been taken, Crafar added, although the possibility cannot be ruled out.