A New Zealand digital medication management service, MediMap, was taken offline after an unauthorised intrusion altered patient records. The company said it detected the breach and placed its system into maintenance mode while it investigates and works to restore data integrity.
MediMap is used by healthcare providers, aged care facilities, hospices, and pharmacies across New Zealand to manage prescriptions and medication histories. Following the incident, some patient records were modified without authorization. According to reporting cited by the company and health authorities, certain entries were changed to incorrect names, dates of birth, and prescriber details. In some cases, patients were falsely marked as deceased.
Among the altered records were entries that renamed patients as Charlie Kirk, a US conservative political commentator who was assassinated last year. The presence of the name in multiple records drew attention to the breach and indicated that the changes were deliberate rather than accidental. Authorities did not state how many records were affected by the name alteration.
Health New Zealand confirmed it was working with MediMap and supporting the response to what it described as a cybersecurity incident. The New Zealand Police and national cyber response agencies were also notified. Officials said the priority was to verify the accuracy of patient information and ensure that no incorrect medical decisions were made based on altered data.
While the system was offline, healthcare providers reverted to manual prescribing and record-keeping processes. Some facilities reported operational disruption as staff relied on paper-based systems to maintain continuity of care.
MediMap said it is conducting a full investigation to determine how the intrusion occurred and whether any personal data was accessed or exfiltrated. At the time of reporting, the company had not confirmed that data was removed from its systems, stating that the review was ongoing. Further updates are expected once forensic analysis is complete.