Experts working to address HSC cyberattack: health minister

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said a cyberattack at Health Sciences Centre announced Monday is being addressed and hasn’t impacted patient care.

“The top priority is making sure that Manitobans continue to get the care that they need,” Asagwara said Tuesday.

“The experts are working hard to address the issue and make sure that patient care remains uninterrupted.”

The health minister said more details were expected to be released later Tuesday, but Shared Health said late in the day that it had nothing new to report on the ransomware attack. Clinical services continue uninterrupted and patient care is unaffected, a spokesperson said.

“Further updates will be provided as our investigation progresses.”

The incident affected certain facility maintenance systems, such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning, as well as door access at Manitoba’s largest hospital, Shared Health said in a news release issued late Monday afternoon.

A sign at one of the hospital’s side entrances noted it was closed and directed people to the main doors at 700 William Ave.

Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said it is troubling that the breach is affecting some of the door access at HSC after the union declared the hospital too dangerous to work at last year because of safety concerns.

“If there has been a breach that allows doors to be unlocked, that is a big concern for us,” she said Tuesday.

Jackson said she didn’t know which doors were affected, but heard that Shared Health sent security officers to cover the entrances.

Shared Health said HSC is working diligently to address the situation “as safely and securely as possible.” An investigation to determine the nature and scope of the impact of the attack was launched as soon as it was discovered, Monday’s news release said without indicating when it became aware of the hack. It said it was engaging with expert third parties to resolve the incident as soon as possible.

Hospitals are considered critical infrastructure and any cyberattacks fall under the mandate of the federal RCMP, the Winnipeg Police Service said. The federal RCMP for the northwest region could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Ransomware is the most common cyberthreat Canadians face and it is on the rise, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security says.

During a ransomware attack, cybercriminals use malicious software to encrypt, steal or delete data, then demand a ransom payment to restore it.

“Basic cybersecurity practices would prevent the vast majority of ransomware incidents in Canada,” the federal government agency’s website says.

Manitoba auditor general Tyson Shtykalo reviewed Shared Health’s cybersecurity and in a December 2024 report made four recommendations. One was to implement training programs to ensure cybersecurity incident response team members are fully aware of their specific roles and responsibilities. Another was to develop a strategy to review and test Shared Health’s cybersecurity incident-response plan. The auditor general called for a regular schedule of activities to test it.

“Our government from Day 1 has always taken cybersecurity very, very seriously because we recognize that digital technology, AI, is advancing very, very quickly,” Asagwara said.

“There are benefits to that. We want Manitoba to be a leader. We want to be innovative. We want to have technology work for us and work for patients, most importantly. We are going to continue to do this work and we’re going to continue to learn from other jurisdictions in terms of best practices and from the experts.”

Shared Health said it is “actively implementing the four recommendations of the auditor general.”

Shtykalo will follow up on his cybersecurity recommendations to Shared Health later this year, spokesman Frank Landry said. The findings will be released in early 2027.

— With files from Joyanne Pursaga, Malak Abas and The Canadian Press

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca