Cyber breach at B.C. First Nations Health Authority exposed TB tests, insurance data

A woman uses her computer keyboard to type in North Vancouver, B.C., on December, 19, 2012. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)

The First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia says online hackers gained access to an array of personal information including medical test results and insurance claims during a cybersecurity breach last May.

The health authority says it has concluded its investigation and "the impact of the cybersecurity incident is not the same for everyone."

But in general, it says hackers gained access to information such as first and last names, home addresses, email addresses, personal health numbers, insurance claim details, and tuberculosis screening test results for certain people.

A statement from the health authority says it hired third-party cybersecurity experts to help with the investigation, which found people whose personal information may have been affected included any First Nations person with a Certificate of Indian Status card who lived or recently lived in B.C. at the time of the breach.

The statement says the health authority was able to detect and disrupt the cybersecurity breach while it was in progress, limiting its impact.

The previously disclosed attack came amid a spate of cybersecurity incidents in B.C. that hit targets including the provincial government, B.C. Libraries and the retailer London Drugs.

First Nations Health Authority CEO Richard Jock says cybersecurity continues to be a top priority for the health authority as the threats become more persistent and sophisticated.

Those with compromised information may also include First Nations individuals and immediate non-First Nations family members who lived in B.C. First Nations communities and had a tuberculosis screening test before March 29, 2016.

The health authority says it will offer supports, such as a two-year subscription to a credit monitoring service, to everyone whose status card number was affected.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2024.