A Waterford-based call centre has been subjected to a cyber attack leading to some restrictions on services. Rigney Dolphin supplies third-party call centre services to the HSE.
The HSE was notified on Tuesday, 28 May 2024 by an external partner who provides contact centre services to the HSE that they experienced a cyber-attack on their systems.
The HSE issued the following statement to WLR News.
"The HSE’s protocol for dealing with any external partner that experiences a cyber-breach has been activated. HSE teams are continuing to work closely with the external partner, and based on the information available to us at this stage, we do not believe that any HSE ICT systems, data or patient data was impacted by this attack.
"This external partner provides call-centre operations to a number of HSE services, including the HSE’s National Medical Card helpline, the QUIT Line (support line to help people stop smoking), and the HSE’s breastfeeding support line. The most significant impact for the HSE was that members of the public who called our National Medical Card helpline last week experienced long delays. We know this is an important service for the public who have queries about their medical card entitlement or application and we apologise to anyone who experienced delays trying to contact us.
"Our helpline services will return to normal operations on Tuesday and Wednesday. The processing and issuing of medical cards is managed directly by the HSE and are not impacted."
WLR reached out to Rigney Dolphin, who confirmed that the situation is under control.
"Early last week, we detected an illegal cyber-security attack on our systems and acted immediately to take all necessary steps to counter this incident. The company activated its security response plan to manage the situation.
"On a precautionary basis, a number of IT and network systems were shut down. This temporary measure affected some internal and external services provided by the company which are now being resumed. The company’s investigations to date have found no evidence that information held on behalf of clients has been accessed.
"The company has taken immediate and appropriate actions to reinforce its already stringent security systems and to reduce any potential effects of this occurrence, and will not be commenting further."
Established in 1990 and headquartered in Waterford, Rigney Dolphin supplies call-centre services to other national clients as well as the HSE.
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