The Canadian Privacy Law Blog: Developments in privacy law and writings of a Canadian privacy lawyer, containing information related to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (aka PIPEDA) and other Canadian and international laws.
The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.
For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.
Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.
The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.
This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
It appears a bit coincidental that I posted this morning that organizations should encrypt data to prevent privacy breaches (PIPEDA and Canadian Privacy Law: Managing privacy risks using basic technology) and I've just discovered the Calgary Herald is reporting that encrypted mainframe tapes containing health records of "hunreds of thousands" of Albertans have gone missing. I hope this is a "non-incident", but in any event the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta is on the case:
Alberta health records go astray: 'Hundreds of thousands' of files feared breached:"Confidential health records of 'hundreds of thousands' of Albertans disappeared or were tampered with while in the hands of a courier earlier this month, prompting an investigation by the province's Information and Privacy Commissioner.
Details were scarce, but government sources told the legislature bureau on Tuesday that Privacy Commissioner Frank Work has been called in to investigate after data -- digitized, encrypted, and stored on large reel-to-reel tapes -- went missing or was otherwise tampered with while in transit between two government facilities.
It appears the tapes were backups, mainly for archival purposes. The information is considered confidential and could include medical records, prescriptions and billing history.
Sources would not confirm if the tapes were recovered or the police were investigating.
The sources said Health and Wellness Minister Iris Evans was assured by an expert with IBM Canada that a mainframe computer system and the proper encryption code would be needed to read the data.
Nonetheless, there is some concern that organized criminal gangs could have the ability to crack the code and use the highly private information...."
Update:
CBC Calgary - Privacy commissioner looking into missing health info:"...'There are names, health care and payroll numbers, payroll rates and the family status of the names on it,' Deere said. 'So there's no real personal health information on it, per se.
'But we take any potential breach of privacy quite seriously, and that's what this is, a potential breach. So we've reported it to the privacy commissioner and he's investigating.'
Deere said birth dates weren't part of the information on the tapes...."
Labels: alberta, health information, information breaches, privacy
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