144,000 Canadians’ Personal Info Mishandled by Federal Departments

According to the OPC, over the past two years under reported breach numbers indicate that 144,000 Canadians may have had their personal information mishandled by federal departments and agencies. What makes the situation worse, is not all of the citizens involved have been made aware of the respective breaches.

There was no explanation for the breaches provided in a federal report that spanned nearly 800 pages. What we do know is that the incidents occurred across various government departments with the biggest culprit being the CRA, showing over 59,000 citizens being affected. Health Canada and CBC followed with both parties showing numbers over 20,000 affected.

Overall, human error seemed to be the consistent underlying factor within a majority of the breaches. The breaches stemmed from various ways including- misdirected mail, security incidents, email mishaps and employee misconducts, while levels of seriousness range from minor to severe.

As the Canadian government tries to implement laws supporting transparency and setting Canadian citizens’ data security as a priority, it seems they too are ironing out the details from within. Currently, the situation is not a good look for the government as it creates a great deal of concern that the numbers could actually be higher. Regardless, for those affected we are only left to speculate and are encouraged to raise our voices to the OPC. Meanwhile, the departments involved are assuring citizens that security and staff training will be offered for future prevention methods.