Nursing union NZNO is apologising to members and warning them to be vigilant after a phishing scam saw tens of thousands of nurse and caregiver emails released to a scammer.
Acting chief executive Jane McGeorge has contacted members to apologise and advise them to be vigilant when opening any emails from a Yahoo address. Also to question whether an email received from an NZNO address looks correct and not to open any attachments if in doubt.
The release of the emails followed somebody claiming to be chief executive Memo Musa contacted the New Zealand Nurses Organisation using a fake yahoo email address and requesting email contacts for its members.
In a press release McGeorge said NZNO was doing its best to make sure this "unfortunate error" doesn't happen again and acknowledged the privacy breach was "very unfortunate and upsetting to members". Not all of the 47,000 members had lodged emails with NZNO but the number released was in the "tens of thousands".
McGeorge said it was working closely with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and ID Care to help support members to keep their email safe.
“We have communicated with the chief executives of district health boards and worked with the general practitioner organisation to get communication out to the health sector about this release of email addresses and are advising them to be on alert."
Members concerned or wanting more information about their release of email address are being asked to email: [email protected].
Advice being shared with NZNO Members on how to be safer online
Password protect all your devices
- Make sure your desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones are all secured with different passwords
- Use strong or complex passwords (by including a range of upper and lower case letters, numbers and punctuation), particularly for your email and online banking
- Change these passwords regularly
Secure your computer
- Install adequate firewalls
- Keep your anti-virus software up to date
- Ensure your operating software is up to date
- Ensure that you have information safely backed-up. If disposing of a computer, make sure you have removed all personal data and take steps to clean the hard drive.
Be cautious with emails
- Be suspicious of emails from people you don’t know or that look unusual – it may be spam email with malicious software attached
- Delete any suspicious emails or phishing threats without opening them
- Never reply with further information. Even if the threat isn’t real, replying confirms to the sender that your email address is legitimate, and it will increase the amount of spam you receive
- Do not open any attachments if the source of the message is unknown or suspicious – do not enable macros on documents from an untrustworthy sender
- If you open a spam email or its attachments at work, contact your IT department immediately
- If the source appears to be from a legitimate New Zealand company, we recommend reporting it to your IT or security team so they can identify the threat and warn their customers
- Be suspicious of links directing you to unknown websites. If you are not sure, don’t click on them. Hover over links to check if they are legitimate – and only visit trusted or reputable sites. A secure and authentic website will have two e-security symbols: a closed padlock and https:// in the address bar
- Before giving out your email address online, read the website privacy policy – it will tell you how they will use your personal information.
- Stop and think before signing up to any online services with your work email address – does your work have a policy in place about using your work email? Would it be better to use your personal email?
Be cautious on social media
- Be suspicious of links shared to unknown websites – even if they are from your friends. If you are not sure, don’t click on them. Only visit trusted or reputable sites. A secure and authentic website will have two e-security symbols: a closed padlock and https:// in the address bar
- Limit the amount and type of identity information you share about yourself, friends and family on your online accounts
- Be aware of, and check your privacy settings, on social media sites
- Change your password relatively often and ensure it is secure, with a mixture of capital and lowercase letters, number and symbols.
Tips drawn from www.connectsmart.govt.nz
More information about phishing available at:
https://www.netsafe.org.nz/phishing/.
Post your comment
Comments
No one has commented on this page yet.
RSS feed for comments on this page | RSS feed for all comments