THE Health Ministry is investigating a report that 19,992 radiology examinations are at risk of having patients’ information leaked.

Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the ministry held a special meeting with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and National Cybersecurity Agency on the matter yesterday.

“The Greenbone Networks report, as well as cyberattacks taking place worldwide, show that we have entered a new era of online threats.

“The threat to cybersecurity is continuous, and requires expert skills and manpower to tackle it,” he said in a statement yesterday.

At the meeting, the ministry discussed actions to be taken to contain such threats, including the mapping of exposure risks at all health facilities.

It is also reviewing the said risks at hospitals using the Picture Archiving and Communication Systems, and upgrading security for IT networks.

On Monday, cybersecurity firm Greenbone Networks said the medical records of patients in 52 countries, including Australia, China, Japan, Britain, France, the US, Russia and Brazil, have been leaked online. – Bernama, September 20, 2019.