On October 27, New Zealand’s Ministry of Justice confirmed that some Coroners Court information was involved in a cybersecurity incident at Zenith Technology, or ZenTech. The information relates to some Otago and Southland cases, mainly from 2016 to 2022. The ministry is still checking which specific records are involved.
The ministry says the incident did not target its systems or court systems. It is working with Health New Zealand, police and other agencies to find out how the information came to be held by the provider and what it contains. A small number of current cases have been delayed.
What the ministry confirmed
The official statement refers to information from Coroners Court files. It does not disclose the number of people involved or the details of individual files. The period mainly covers cases from 2016 to 2022 in Otago and Southland.
The ministry says further validation is needed to identify the specific cases involved. It also says an interim High Court injunction prohibits accessing, using or publishing confidential information held by ZenTech and unlawfully taken in the incident. Do not try to view or share files attributed to the incident.
An incident at a service provider
ZenTech is a private Dunedin company providing clinical research and laboratory services, including work connected with the health sector. In September, Health New Zealand said it was helping the company respond to the incident and that its own digital systems were not affected.
The Ministry of Justice says it has no contract with ZenTech and is investigating how coronial information came to be held by the provider. The inquiry therefore also concerns the chain through which institutional records were transferred or became accessible to a third party.
Effects on families
The ministry says a small number of current cases have experienced delays during the investigation. It has not provided a count or identified which families are involved. Given the confidentiality and sensitivity of records relating to deaths, speculation about file contents or affected people should be avoided.
Families concerned that a relative’s case may be involved can call the ministry’s information line at 0800 638 924, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Official communications remain the way to confirm whether a specific case is in scope.
What organisations can review
The incident is a reminder that data held by a provider can remain sensitive even if the organisation responsible for it was not directly attacked. Organisations should document which suppliers hold data, why they hold it, what access they have and how incidents must be reported.
Contracts, processing registers and response procedures should help teams quickly identify the business owner of information and any third parties that receive it. This mapping supports coordinated notifications and investigations without assuming every provider or subcontractor is already known to the teams.
Soclyde’s connection
Soclyde helps teams keep and share their own business secrets in an encrypted vault on their devices. Access management can complement a supplier map, but Soclyde does not control ZenTech’s systems or protect court records. Organisations still need to manage access and data transfers in the services concerned.
What to remember
The ministry confirms that some Coroners Court information was involved at ZenTech, while the specific cases remain under review. It says the ministry and court systems were not targeted and has opened an information line for families. To organise business access, read our guide to creating secure passwords.
