Sam Strangeways reports:
The e-mail addresses and telephone numbers of more than 1,200 people have been published on Government’s website.
The sensitive data was available to view last week on a customer feedback page concerning the Transport Control Department at www.gov.bm
The information was removed after The Royal Gazette informed the Ministry of Transport of its existence.
The site featured 25 pages of queries and comments sent to TCD between November 2007 and last month, with almost every entry listing an e-mail address and telephone number. Some customers also provided home addresses and driving licence numbers.
The government says it will notify those affected, which is about 2% of their population. But put down your coffee before you read the spokesperson’s description of a breach that appears to involve simple url manipulation:
“A number of comments, posted to a form on this page, were temporarily made available by utilising a sophisticated search engine.”
The reporter kindly informs readers that Bermuda has no privacy legislation:
Bermuda does not have dedicated privacy legislation, though laws such as the Electronic Transactions Act deal with some aspects of data protection.
The Department of E-Commerce said last year a working party was reviewing draft legislation and a public consultation would be carried out in late 2010.
It said the proposed law, if approved, would result in “fundamental new rights being granted to individuals regarding their personal information”. It has yet to be tabled in Parliament.
Read more on Royal Gazette.