St Vincent's says no sensitive data stolen after IT breach and more briefs

Also, eHealth NSW has finally hired a new CTO.
By Adam Ang
04:11 AM

Photo courtesy of St Vincent's Health Australia

On Thursday, St Vincent's Health Australia disclosed findings from a forensic investigation following a breach in its IT system on 19 December

The not-for-profit health and aged care provider said, citing a report from CyberCX, that hackers were not able to pilfer sensitive personal information from their network. 

"In particular, there is no evidence that any identification documents (driver’s licences, passports, Medicare cards), medical records or banking information have been stolen from our network," St Vincent's emphasised in an update.

Nor did the cybersecurity experts find any evidence of the stolen data posted on the dark web.

Further, the investigation identified approximately 4.3 gigabytes worth of system, configuration data and network credential data as having been stolen. 

St Vincent's continues to carry out remediation activities, including round-the-clock monitoring to detect and respond to suspicious activities. 


eHealth NSW names new CTO  

eHealth NSW has appointed seasoned technology executive Richard Weir to the CTO role.

Weir, who has over 15 years of national and global leadership experience in telecommunications, software, financial services, and consulting, will also serve as executive director of Service Delivery for the organisation.

He was previously with DXC Technology as the director of its Technology Delivery for Commonwealth Bank. Weir was also the former CTO for Thomson Reuters and PayVantage.

According to a media release, Weir will oversee the management of eHealth NSW's statewide platforms and lead its Service Delivery team of over 1,400 IT professionals. 


eHealth NSW also announced the launch of a new approval management functionality on the real-time prescription monitoring program, SafeScript NSW.

Launched in 2022, SafeScript NSW now features an approval history for certain high-risk Schedule 8 medicines. It allows prescribers to easily submit approval applications online; track their progress; and exit or cancel existing approvals.


Tech provider tapped for Emergency WA upgrade

The Western Australian government has engaged public safety technology provider Genvis to deliver an improved emergency information platform. 

The contract is part of a multi-year project to deliver enhancements to Emergency WA, which has been providing authoritative, accurate and timely emergency information across the state since 2016.

Genvis will be working with the WA Department of Emergency Services to make Emergency WA "capable of delivering faster, more personalised and targeted warnings during emergencies," a media release noted. There will also be an effort to deliver nationally consistent warnings through the Australian Warning System. 

New functionalities on Emergency WA will be implemented in phases and will include an app along with translated warnings; the ability to set watch zones; integration with in-home and wearable smart devices; and new accessibility features.

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