Zenith Technology recently identified a cyber security incident involving unauthorised access to a portion of its IT environment in New Zealand. As a result, the personal information of a limited number of individuals was impacted. We understand some of this information is likely to include health-related and identifying data collected as part of the clinical trial process.
As soon as this incident was detected, we took immediate steps to ensure the security and integrity of all its systems.
The incident was promptly contained, and with the support of independent cyber experts, a thorough investigation is now underway into the incident.
Zenith Technology has notified the relevant regulatory, government and law enforcement agencies including the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) and Health New Zealand (HNZ). If you have further concerns, you have the right to complain to the Privacy Commissioner.
1. What type of information was involved?
Based on our review of the dataset, we understand that the impacted data included personal details collected as part of the clinical trial process, including health-related and identifying information.
2. Additional information and support
If you have been impacted by this breach and would like to understand the support that may be available to you, please contact Zenith Technology directly at incident@zenithtechnology.co.nz
3. What steps can you take to protect your information?
We recommend you remain vigilant against the risk of phishing emails and scams, which are often the most likely risk associated with any unauthorised access to personal information.
Scam calls and phishing emails are becoming increasingly sophisticated and can appear to come from legitimate email addresses or phone numbers with local area codes. They will often claim to be contacting you from a reputable organisation, such as a government entity, bank, or telecommunications agency. They will also create a sense of urgency to try to get you to disclose sensitive information or to elicit funds from you.
Where a third party has accessed or disclosed your contact information, it is important to:
- • Stay alert to scams: be aware of email, telephone and text-based scams. Do not share your personal information with anyone unless you are confident of the recipient’s identity;
- • Check website addresses: before entering login credentials, verify the website address or URL ('Uniform Resource Locator'). The URL is located in the address bar of your web browser and typically starts with https://;
- • Verify suspicious websites: if you are suspicious of the URL or website’s legitimacy, do not provide your login details. Instead, contact the organisation through the usual channels to ensure you are logging into the correct web page. Please note that we will never contact you to ask for your username or password;
- • Enable multi-factor authentication: where available, enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for your online accounts where possible, including your email, banking, and social media accounts;
- • Keep devices secure: ensure you have up-to-date anti-virus software installed on any device you use to access your online accounts;
- • Update your passwords: change your online account passwords if you have not already done so, including any passwords stored in emails or other unsecured locations. Netsafe provides guidance around good password practice here: https://netsafe.org.nz/online-safety-at-home/how-to-choose-a-good-password
- • Learn about scam prevention: review the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment's Scamwatch guidance on protecting yourself from scams here: https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/general-help/scamwatch/
- • Protect against identity theft: for further guidance about protecting your identity and responding to identity theft, refer to the New Zealand Government's ID Theft guidance page here: https://www.govt.nz/browse/law-crime-and-justice/identity-theft/.
4. Health Information
Some health-related information was included in the impacted dataset. Please note that cybercriminals usually target information that can be easily used for financial gain – such as credit card details or identity documents. However, we understand that having your information accessed by a third party may cause concern. If you require further support, please reach out to incident@zenithtechnology.co.nz.
5. General Resources
You may wish to visit the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner website for further information about your privacy rights and responding to cyber security incidents at https://www.privacy.org.nz/your-rights/your-privacy-rights/
You can also find additional support resources at:
https://www.privacy.org.nz/your-rights/your-privacy-rights/
https://netsafe.org.nz/online-safety-at-home/how-to-choose-a-good-password