Rob Shaw and Lindsay Kines report: The B.C. government has fired a second employee in connection with a security breach in which the files of 1,400 income assistance clients turned up in a government worker’s home. Citizens’ Services Minister Ben Stewart confirmed today that the second employee was “involved with” the Public Service Agency within…
Category: Non-U.S.
AU: Private files at risk of exposure
Rick Wallace reports: The Victorian government has failed to protect its citizens’ private data, even within its highest echelons, and its computer systems remain vulnerable to attacks from hackers and data thieves. An audit of the government’s handling of personal and private information has unveiled problems in the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Treasury and…
Ca: Province waited 7 months to notify public of sensitive security breach
Rob Shaw and Lindsay Kines report: The British Columbia government knew seven months ago about a serious security breach involving sensitive personal information from 1,400 income-assistance clients, yet only notified the affected people last week, the Victoria Times Colonist has learned. RCMP officers found the missing documents inside the Victoria home of a government worker…
Ie: University hands confidential student records to media
Gavan Reilly reports: The University Observer can exclusively reveal major security flaws within the UCD [University College Dublin] Registry, which allow an individual to gain access to the detailed academic records of any UCD graduate. UCD’s Student Desk supplied The University Observer with copies of full academic statements for two recent graduates, after this newspaper…
Ca: Hacker put farmers’ records at risk
Bill Curry reports: An amateur hacker attacked two government servers at Agriculture Canada, putting at risk about 60,000 personal-data records of Canadian farmers, according to the Privacy Commissioner’s annual report. The report lists various privacy breaches that came to the Commissioner’s attention over the past year, but Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said she was at a…
Follow-up: B.C. privacy czar to probe files breach
Rob Shaw and Lindsay Kines report: B.C.’s privacy commissioner has launched his own investigation into how sensitive information from 1,400 income-assistance clients ended up at the home of a government employee. Information and Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis said he has tough questions for the provincial government, including how the employee, a government case worker, was…