N.L. Centre for Health Information AGM sidesteps cyberattack details, doesn't allow live questions

The agency in charge of safeguarding health information in Newfoundland and Labrador held its first annual general meeting since last fall's cyberattack, but there were no updates about what happened or what's since been done to protect patient data.

The tightly scripted event held on the Friday afternoon before a long holiday weekend, in contrast to previous yearswas a one-way video meeting with no ability to ask live questions.

People watching the virtual event were instead directed to submit any inquiries via chat function, to be answered later.

Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information officials could not say exactly when those responses will come.

The references to the cyberattack mainly related to lauding staff for their response.

"NLCHI did outstanding work to get our health-care system back on its feet quickly, post an event last fall which brought some technology down," said Blair White, an assistant deputy ministerwith the Department of Health.

NLCHI board chair Kris Aubrey-Bassler agreed.

"It has truly been a team effort, a massive team effort going above and beyond, to contain the disruption and restore all function within the health system within an incredibly short timeline given the degree of dysfunction that resulted following the attack," Aubrey-Bassler said.

Dearth of information about cyberattack

The Newfoundland and Labrador government has been mum about most aspects of the cyberattack, which took down many of the health computer systems in the province.

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Officials have acknowledged that information was stolen. Lab results were inaccessible, and procedures and treatments were delayed.

As of July, Eastern Health had notified 37,800 people that their privacy was breached.

But there are still major question marks about what actually happened.

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Government officials have repeatedly declined to disclose details about who was behind the attack, whether it involved ransomware, whether any ransom was paid, and what has since been done to bolster cyberdefences.

They have cited expert advice for that secrecy, but have refused to say who those experts are.

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