Police arrest man in connection with alleged Te Whatu Ora mass privacy breach of Covid vaccination data NZ Herald

pShare this articleppPolice have arrested a man in connection with a mass privacy breach of Covid19 vaccination datappIt comes after Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand launched an employment investigation accusing a health sector worker of spreading misinformation using government data about Covid19 vaccinesppA 56yearold man was arrested this afternoon in relation to the unauthorised disclosure and misuse of data police saidppHe is charged with accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes and will appear in Wellington District Court tomorrowppAs the case is before the court police cannot comment further police saidppA man believed to be a Te Whatu Ora staff member was interviewed on a New Zealand conspiracy theory site last week He claimed he developed a database for the vaccine rollout and quoted from that workppFormer TV presenter and conspiracy theorist Liz Gunn took to X formerly Twitter this afternoon to report police surrounded the whistleblowers house at 215pm and that an arrest was imminentppA woman who lost both parents during the pandemic is furious peoples health data is being used to spread misinformation about the safety of the Covid19 vaccinationppThe idea that these clowns could be using my loved ones deaths as socalled proof that the jab kills when it simply doesnt is truly distressing to meppEarlier tonight the ministry said the staff member had no clinical background or expert vaccine knowledge and there was no evidence vaccination was responsible for excess mortality in New ZealandppIts alleged an individual downloaded a large amount of vaccinerelated information Te Whatu Ora chief executive Margie Apa saidppThe data as published on an overseas site appears to have been anonymised Analysis of the released data is ongoing but work so far has not found any National Health Index Numbers or personally identifiable informationppApa said an injunction had been used to have information taken down from an overseas website and cyber security specialists are continuing to scan extensively for any other places where the information may appearppWe sought and were granted an injunction through the Employment Relations Authority that prevents any publication of the data to ensure that we can take all steps to protect the privacy of individualsppAn employment investigation was also underway and the person was no longer at work Apa saidppThe individual has worked in the health system for a number of years He was authorised to access data as part of his work and was locked out of our systems as soon as we became aware of the unauthorised use Apa saidppHe had been employed since the inception of Te Whatu Ora last yearppShe said the organisation took data security very seriously It was extremely disappointed at this gross breach of trust and the alleged spreading of harmful misinformationppWe can assure the public that we are doing everything we can to respond to this incident and to safeguard their informationppShe said a thorough investigation is under wayppWhat this individual is trying to claim about vaccines is completely wrong and illinformed and their comments demonstrate this The person has no clinical background or expert vaccine knowledge and appears to be trying to spread misinformation Apa saidppVaccination is safe and effective and everyone should keep up to date with their shots to protect themselves whānau and their communitiesppShe assured people there was no evidence whatsoever that vaccination is responsible for excess mortality in New ZealandppWe have had a team working through the weekend to respond to this incident and are working closely with other agencies including the National Cyber Security Centre police Department of Internal Affairs and Office of the Privacy Commissioner Apa saidppWe have also been offering advice and support to some individual pharmacies and vaccination sites that were identified in an early video published in relation to the unauthorised disclosure and misuse of datappLouise Richardson whose parents were vaccinated against Covid19 but died soon afterwards is upset at the thought her mother and father could have been part of the data breachppRichardson said her parents did not die from the vaccine but because they were old and already unwellppShe understood names were taken from Health NZs Invercargill records which may have included her parents details She believed people could use this information to reach completely wrong conclusionsppThe idea that these clowns could be using my loved ones deaths as socalled proof that the jab kills when it simply doesnt is truly distressing to meppRichardson said she was following this matter pretty closely and was absolutely furious that her late parents confidential information was likely out there in the cookersphereppShare this articleppEEO Commissioner Kaihautū Ōritenga Mahi Saunoamaalii Karanina Sumeo on dignityp