2019 InterSystems (Australia NT Health) — sensitive patient files transferred outside governed process
Data compromised
Identifiable patient clinical records described as highly sensitive in oversight reporting
Technical writeup
Australian public inquiries (later summarized in 2023 ABC and trade coverage) found that during the Northern Territory’s Acacia digital health program, identifiable patient files—including high-risk clinical material for more than 3,000 people—were transferred to InterSystems, overseas-based product/support teams, without the governance framework NT Health later deemed necessary. InterSystems publicly indicated that after August 2019 awareness it quarantined and destroyed copies across environments. The episode is regulatory/privacy-framed as systemic program failure with vendor receipt of data.
Root cause
Deficient data-governance and transfer controls on a jurisdiction-wide health modernization program