Tonga’s national health information system suffered a crippling ransomware attack, compelling staff to revert to manual operations. The breach was first revealed during a parliamentary debate when a top government official alerted MPs to it. Health Minister Dr. ʻAna ʻAkauʻola confirmed she learned of the hack and immediately summoned her system administrators. She disturbingly noted the staff member managing the NHIS was initially unaware that it was a serious breach.
The minister disclosed that hackers had fully encrypted the entire NHIS and were now demanding a payment. She assured the concerned Members of Parliament that the hackers would not damage the system’s stored information. Dr. ʻAkauʻola said she promptly emailed the Deputy Prime Minister, who then engaged the Australian High Commission. Dr. Fusimalohi confirmed that an expert Australian cyber team has now arrived today to help resolve the issue.
This event marks the first known ransomware attack on the new NHIS system, which was introduced in 2019.
The system, supported by the Asian Development Bank, officially went “live” for public use back in 2021. Dr. ʻAkauʻola warned that this is one of the inherent risks before going into full system digitalisation. She cannot currently confirm whether any confidential patient data has been compromised during the significant hacking incident. It was confirmed, however, that the important patient data has now been rendered completely inaccessible to the staff.
The Minister for Police welcomed the necessary turn to manual processes but heavily criticized past government administrations.
He stated that they had unfortunately ignored earlier warnings that Tonga’s digital infrastructure was not fully prepared. The minister also said these hackers are now demanding millions of dollars and urged for IT infrastructure investment. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni cautioned the breach might have started from one simple, errant click. Prime Minister ‘Aisake Eke assured the public that government efforts are underway and that updates will follow.
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