January 1, 2026 • 6 mins
A major breach of the country's largest collection of health data has privacy experts concerned.
Manage My Health is an app which allows patients and their GPs to privately communicate, send prescription information and share test results.
Due to a cyber attack, 120,000 of the app's 1.8 million kiwi user's data has been compromised.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News TALKSTB. Follow this
and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
So a major breach of the country's largest collection of
health data has privacy experts concerned. Manage my Health as
an app which allows patients and their GPS to privately
communicate and send prescription information and test results between each other.
And due to a cyber attack, one hundred and twenty
thousand of the apps one point eight million ki we
use as data has been compromised. So we're joined now
(00:39):
by the CEO I've Managed my Health, Vino Ramayan. Good
morning to your VENO. Good morning name yep, yep, it's Andrew.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
So what Andrew? Sorry, it's all right.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
What actually happened?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
We were told on the early hours of the thirty
first that a ransomware company had attacked us and that
was an intrusion, so invariably reactivated our recovery plan owners
and we've been very busily working a way to appoint
(01:19):
forensic experts and also engage with Healthcare New Zealand, Health
New Zealand and various other agencies, including the Privacy Commissioner
and the New Zealand Police. We are in a middle
stage of our investigations. Are issued a press statement yesterday
(01:43):
which basically explained the progress we are making, and a
further press statement will be made later today at three pm.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
So they're overseas players who are holding the data for ransom.
So how much are they asking for them? Will you
pay it?
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Firstly, there we do not know whether they overseas or
regional or what have you. That some which the police
are investigating, but we suspect from overseas. Yes, there is
public information out there on the website said they are
the marking a ransom of sixty thousand dollars. We cannot
(02:23):
comment on this as this matters with the police and
it's under investigation, so I prefer not to comment on
the demand or the dealing. It's something which I would
have to take advice and also take advice on what
the police say in that regard.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So what has been leaked? Is it everything? Or is
it just spots of information here and there?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
It's not everything firstly, and what we have been able
to ascertain so far it is confined to maybe seven
percent of our Ruttle users, which I know is a
large number. But nevertheless, what we have as tain is
our main portal, and the practice management system we are integrated,
(03:14):
which is the largest in the country, are secure. Therefore,
the doctor's information at disappoint in time, to the best
of my knowledge, has not been affected at.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
All because there's a lot of stuff in there. I know,
I use it. There's your National Health number, there's your address,
there's your age, there's all the lists of all the
medications you're on, all the conditions you have as well.
So that's why people might be worried as to what
has been leaked.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yes, look, we totally appreciate the public anxiety and the
user and customer anxiety, wanting to be very factual and
very accurate in whatever we say rather than be speculated,
and that's why there's a level of prudence that we
have exercise in getting to the nub of the issue,
(04:07):
getting to the detail. And it is a complex intrusion.
It is not one of the usual ones. We get
lots of intrusions which our security system picks up, but
this went under the radar and therefore you know, we
are unpacking this. We've got an international forensic team which
is on the case. We're unpacking all of the elements
(04:30):
of this, we think we made some good progress which
I think will rapidly improve in the course of the
next two days, whereupon we will give out more information
which is reliable.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Regarding security. It's a bit of a consumer when you
say under the radar, and I know, looking at the
website it says all the data being transferred is encrypted.
Is that true? Is the data encrypted though when it's
stored in servers perhaps overseas or here.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
I can't comment on what the ransomware actors are do.
But what we know is the data in our systems
is all the time encrypted. But there is obviously a
whole range of tools and you know which the dark
(05:25):
web users to try to unpack or decrypt data. But
I can't really comment on the actual technicalities of this.
I'd rather wait for my forensic.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Can I ask you where you got the system from?
I mean, is this something that was developed in house?
Was this something developed in New Zealand? Or did you
buy it off the rack from overseas?
Speaker 3 (05:51):
I beg your pardon.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Can I ask you where the system came from? Is
this something that you developed in house or is this
something you bought off the rack from overseas? Therefore you
might have bought something that was easily compromised.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
No, no, this is a New Zealand originated system. We're
proud of the fact that it comes from New Zealand.
Were one of the first to start the system and
it's helped millions of patients and doctors be very efficient
and also empower people to take care of their own help.
So it is entirely New Zealand developed and it is
(06:25):
not something we bought off the rack. It's developed by
New Zealand engineers and our architects. So we're here.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Well, we wish you all the best in getting to
the bottom of all of this because there's a lot
of people concerned. That is Veno Rameya. They Manage my
Health CEO. One hundred and twenty thousand New Zealanders have
had their information leaked out of one point eight million
and they would like to know. Manage my Health is
expecting to start notifying customers impact pacted by this breach
within the next forty eight hours.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from News TALKSTB. Follow this
and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
So a major breach of the country's largest collection of
health data has privacy experts concerned. Manage my Health as
an app which allows patients and their GPS to privately
communicate and send prescription information and test results between each other.
And due to a cyber attack, one hundred and twenty
thousand of the apps one point eight million ki we
use as data has been compromised. So we're joined now
(00:39):
by the CEO I've Managed my Health, Vino Ramayan. Good
morning to your VENO. Good morning name yep, yep, it's Andrew.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
So what Andrew? Sorry, it's all right.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
What actually happened?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
We were told on the early hours of the thirty
first that a ransomware company had attacked us and that
was an intrusion, so invariably reactivated our recovery plan owners
and we've been very busily working a way to appoint
(01:19):
forensic experts and also engage with Healthcare New Zealand, Health
New Zealand and various other agencies, including the Privacy Commissioner
and the New Zealand Police. We are in a middle
stage of our investigations. Are issued a press statement yesterday
(01:43):
which basically explained the progress we are making, and a
further press statement will be made later today at three pm.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
So they're overseas players who are holding the data for ransom.
So how much are they asking for them? Will you
pay it?
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Firstly, there we do not know whether they overseas or
regional or what have you. That some which the police
are investigating, but we suspect from overseas. Yes, there is
public information out there on the website said they are
the marking a ransom of sixty thousand dollars. We cannot
(02:23):
comment on this as this matters with the police and
it's under investigation, so I prefer not to comment on
the demand or the dealing. It's something which I would
have to take advice and also take advice on what
the police say in that regard.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So what has been leaked? Is it everything? Or is
it just spots of information here and there?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
It's not everything firstly, and what we have been able
to ascertain so far it is confined to maybe seven
percent of our Ruttle users, which I know is a
large number. But nevertheless, what we have as tain is
our main portal, and the practice management system we are integrated,
(03:14):
which is the largest in the country, are secure. Therefore,
the doctor's information at disappoint in time, to the best
of my knowledge, has not been affected at.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
All because there's a lot of stuff in there. I know,
I use it. There's your National Health number, there's your address,
there's your age, there's all the lists of all the
medications you're on, all the conditions you have as well.
So that's why people might be worried as to what
has been leaked.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yes, look, we totally appreciate the public anxiety and the
user and customer anxiety, wanting to be very factual and
very accurate in whatever we say rather than be speculated,
and that's why there's a level of prudence that we
have exercise in getting to the nub of the issue,
(04:07):
getting to the detail. And it is a complex intrusion.
It is not one of the usual ones. We get
lots of intrusions which our security system picks up, but
this went under the radar and therefore you know, we
are unpacking this. We've got an international forensic team which
is on the case. We're unpacking all of the elements
(04:30):
of this, we think we made some good progress which
I think will rapidly improve in the course of the
next two days, whereupon we will give out more information
which is reliable.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Regarding security. It's a bit of a consumer when you
say under the radar, and I know, looking at the
website it says all the data being transferred is encrypted.
Is that true? Is the data encrypted though when it's
stored in servers perhaps overseas or here.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
I can't comment on what the ransomware actors are do.
But what we know is the data in our systems
is all the time encrypted. But there is obviously a
whole range of tools and you know which the dark
(05:25):
web users to try to unpack or decrypt data. But
I can't really comment on the actual technicalities of this.
I'd rather wait for my forensic.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Can I ask you where you got the system from?
I mean, is this something that was developed in house?
Was this something developed in New Zealand? Or did you
buy it off the rack from overseas?
Speaker 3 (05:51):
I beg your pardon.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Can I ask you where the system came from? Is
this something that you developed in house or is this
something you bought off the rack from overseas? Therefore you
might have bought something that was easily compromised.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
No, no, this is a New Zealand originated system. We're
proud of the fact that it comes from New Zealand.
Were one of the first to start the system and
it's helped millions of patients and doctors be very efficient
and also empower people to take care of their own help.
So it is entirely New Zealand developed and it is
(06:25):
not something we bought off the rack. It's developed by
New Zealand engineers and our architects. So we're here.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Well, we wish you all the best in getting to
the bottom of all of this because there's a lot
of people concerned. That is Veno Rameya. They Manage my
Health CEO. One hundred and twenty thousand New Zealanders have
had their information leaked out of one point eight million
and they would like to know. Manage my Health is
expecting to start notifying customers impact pacted by this breach
within the next forty eight hours.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
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