Tonga’s Ministry of Health is relieved after hackers infiltrated its National Health Information System (NHIS) last month, leading to a temporary return to paper-based processes.
Two weeks after the cyberattack, a response team from Australia successfully restored the system, Health Minister Dr ‘Ana ‘Akau’ola confirmed.
The swift recovery was made possible by an existing backup system, countering earlier reports that the NHIS had no data protection measures in place.
“I just wanted to correct that information. No, there was indeed a backup system, and it helped make the recovery quicker,” Dr ‘Akau’ola said in Tongan.
The hackers had demanded a $1 million ransom, but the Tongan government refused to pay.
Instead, authorities worked with cybersecurity experts from Australia to isolate the breach and restore operations.
While the attackers leaked some data onto the Dark Web, the minister confirmed that only four documents had been exposed so far.
“As of last week, the hackers have not released any further stolen patient information,” she said, though investigations are ongoing to assess the full extent of the breach.
The Minister said the major recovery work had been completed before the Australian team left, leaving only minor tasks for the Ministry’s IT team to handle.
She expressed deep gratitude to the Australian team for their assistance.
The incident has prompted calls for stronger cybersecurity measures across Tonga’s public sector, with the government now reviewing its digital safeguards to prevent future attacks.
