Lakelands Public Health says it is responding to a cybersecurity incident that affected some of its internal systems, but has not confirmed whether the incident involved ransomware or the theft of personal information.
The public health unit announced Tuesday (February 3) that, after becoming aware of the incident last Thursday, it moved immediately to secure its systems and activate its incident-response protocols. A third-party cybersecurity firm has since been engaged to investigate and contain the breach and support recovery efforts.
While the investigation is ongoing, Lakelands Public Health says systems used to manage infectious disease data and clinical appointments — including immunization and sexual health services — appear not to have been affected.
“Our priority response to this event is protecting the information entrusted to us and maintaining continuity of critical public health services,” said Dr. Thomas Piggott, medical officer of health and CEO of Lakelands Public Health.
According to the health unit, if its investigation determines personal or personal health information was compromised, affected individuals will be notified directly.
Lakelands Public Health has not disclosed the nature of the cybersecurity incident, but attacks on healthcare organizations in Canada frequently involve ransomware — a form of malware that encrypts systems and demands payment to restore access.
According to national cybersecurity reporting, healthcare organizations are among the most frequently targeted public-sector institutions in Canada due to the critical nature of their services and the sensitivity of the data they hold.
Hospitals, public health units, and regional health authorities have increasingly faced operational disruptions rather than immediate data breaches, with attackers seeking payments of large sums (usually in untraceable cryptocurrency) to restore access to systems and data.
In recent years, several Canadian hospitals and health agencies have reported ransomware incidents that forced staff to revert to paper records, delay non-urgent procedures, or temporarily suspend digital services. Cybersecurity experts have noted that public agencies often choose not to publicly confirm ransomware involvement during early investigations, particularly when containment efforts are still underway.
Lakelands Public Health says some programs and services may experience temporary disruptions as systems are restored, though most services remain available across all office locations.
Residents with urgent public health concerns are being encouraged to call 1-866-888-4577 and follow the prompts. After-hours urgent calls can be directed to 705-760-8127 for Peterborough City and County, or 1-888-255-7839 for Haliburton County, the City of Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County.
The health unit says it will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.
