LATEST: HSE to start notifying people affected by last year's data breach

The Health Service Executive (HSE) will soon start notifying people affected by last year's data breach.

RTÉ News has reported that 113,000 people will be contacted by letter in the coming months relating to the cyber-attack in May 2021, which was attributed to a criminal gang called Wizard Spider, who are believed to be operating from Russia.

Out of these, the HSE said 94,000 patients and approximately 18,200 members of staff will be contacted.

86 per cent of the notifications relate to patient data, while 14 per cent to staff data.

Commenting on the announcement, Joe Ryan, the HSE National Director, said: "People being notified will receive a letter telling them what part of their personal information was impacted.

"The letter will also outline how, if they wish to do so, people can then request to view their exact documents which were illegally accessed and copied, which can be done via a portal on the HSE website."

Everyone affected will be informed by April 2023.

More than 80 per cent of the HSE's IT infrastructure and health service sites all over the country were affected by the cyber-attack last year.

Tusla and Children's Health Ireland, which shares some systems with the HSE, were also impacted.

The HSE said yesterday that there is no evidence that any personal data has been shared or used fraudulently since 2021.