The Health Minister has been briefed after an organisation that runs clinical trial work for the sector was hit by a cyber incident.
Health New Zealand said it was helping Zenith Technology, or ZenTech, respond to the incident.
A police spokesperson said they have been made "aware of an incident". "We are in the early stages of our investigation and are working alongside Health NZ."
'Sample material purported to be company data has been published online'
The Dunedin-based contract research organisation provided clinical trial and analytical laboratory services for the pharmaceutical industry. It worked with Health NZ and the wider health sector.
A spokesperson for Zenith Technology confirmed to 1News in a statement that the company was currently responding to a cyber security incident affecting its operations.
"As a precaution, certain systems have been taken offline while we work to ensure our IT environment is secure and the incident has been contained.
"We are aware that some sample material purported to be company data has been published online. As a matter of priority, we have engaged independent cyber security experts to investigate the incident and assess the nature and extent of any impact.
"We are working closely with relevant authorities and government agencies, including Health New Zealand."
The spokesperson said the company would "provide further updates as more information becomes available".
"As investigations continue, we are carefully assessing the available information to ensure that any updates we provide are accurate and reliable."
A Health NZ spokesperson said the agency learned of the incident after files attributed to ZenTech were identified online.
"There is no impact on Health NZ digital systems, and hospitals and primary care providers are operating as normal."
According to Stuff, the cyber attack was believed to have occurred about a week ago, with large amounts of information, including sensitive health data, stolen.
'National incident response protocols'
ZenTech has called in specialist cyber forensic support, Health NZ said.
The government department said its priority was to "ensure the response is thorough, coordinated and based on verified information".
"The right agencies and specialist experts are involved, and the situation is being actively managed through established national incident response protocols."
"Health New Zealand will work with the impacted organisation and relevant agencies to ensure appropriate steps are taken to notify and support those affected."
A spokesperson for Health Minister Simeon Brown said he had been briefed and was receiving regular updates.
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