Headwaters confirms unauthorized access to hospital systems
Headwaters confirms unauthorized access to hospital systems
The breach occurred on Nov. 25
Tabitha Wells
Orangeville Banner
Monday, November 29, 2021
Headwaters Health Care Centre has provided an update regarding the suspicious email activity that led to the closure of its COVID-19 assessment centre and affected a number of internal systems.
On Friday afternoon (Nov. 26), the hospital posted a second notice to its website, confirming a data breach.
“We have since determined that our system has been subjected to unauthorized access,” explained the hospital. “We are working with cybersecurity experts who will help us safely restore our IT services and investigate what happened and whether any sensitive data was exposed.”
The hospital’s information technology system noticed suspicious email activity on Nov. 25, resulting in the shutdown of internal systems, access to the internet and key external partners. Leading up to the discovery, a number of spam emails were sent out from hospital accounts to recipients in their address books.
“As an organization we take cybersecurity very seriously and have numerous measures in place to protect our data,” the first notice on Nov. 25 stated. “Thankfully, our team noticed unusual activity quickly and (acted) immediately.”
The system shutdown impacted email from the hospital and forced the closure of the hospital's COVID-19 Assessment Centre until further notice.
In its Nov. 26 update, the hospital said that while many of its systems are down, it has ‘robust processes’ in place to ensure a safe level of patient care.
Scheduled surgeries and procedures have not been affected, and the emergency department remains open.
While the local assessment centre is closed, residents are encouraged to seek locations in Peel or elsewhere within Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph. Locations can be found at www.peelregion.ca/coronavirus/testing/#locations and wdgpublichealth.ca/your-health/covid-19-information-public/getting-tested-covid-19.
As of its latest update, there was no timeline available on when systems would be up and running again.
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Headwaters shuts down COVID-19 assessment centre amid suspicious email activity
“This process will take some time. We are committed to being transparent and will notify individuals if we learn that personal information has been exposed,” Headwaters said.
The Orangeville Banner reached out to the hospital for comment. However, the hospital is only providing updates via its website at headwatershealth.ca.
The breach occurred on Nov. 25
Tabitha Wells
Orangeville Banner
Monday, November 29, 2021
Headwaters Health Care Centre has provided an update regarding the suspicious email activity that led to the closure of its COVID-19 assessment centre and affected a number of internal systems.
On Friday afternoon (Nov. 26), the hospital posted a second notice to its website, confirming a data breach.
“We have since determined that our system has been subjected to unauthorized access,” explained the hospital. “We are working with cybersecurity experts who will help us safely restore our IT services and investigate what happened and whether any sensitive data was exposed.”
The hospital’s information technology system noticed suspicious email activity on Nov. 25, resulting in the shutdown of internal systems, access to the internet and key external partners. Leading up to the discovery, a number of spam emails were sent out from hospital accounts to recipients in their address books.
“As an organization we take cybersecurity very seriously and have numerous measures in place to protect our data,” the first notice on Nov. 25 stated. “Thankfully, our team noticed unusual activity quickly and (acted) immediately.”
The system shutdown impacted email from the hospital and forced the closure of the hospital's COVID-19 Assessment Centre until further notice.
In its Nov. 26 update, the hospital said that while many of its systems are down, it has ‘robust processes’ in place to ensure a safe level of patient care.
Scheduled surgeries and procedures have not been affected, and the emergency department remains open.
While the local assessment centre is closed, residents are encouraged to seek locations in Peel or elsewhere within Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph. Locations can be found at www.peelregion.ca/coronavirus/testing/#locations and wdgpublichealth.ca/your-health/covid-19-information-public/getting-tested-covid-19.
As of its latest update, there was no timeline available on when systems would be up and running again.
Related content
Headwaters shuts down COVID-19 assessment centre amid suspicious email activity
“This process will take some time. We are committed to being transparent and will notify individuals if we learn that personal information has been exposed,” Headwaters said.
The Orangeville Banner reached out to the hospital for comment. However, the hospital is only providing updates via its website at headwatershealth.ca.
