TORONTO — A published report says personal details of world leaders attending last November's G20 summit in Australia were accidentally disclosed to the organizers of an Asian Cup soccer tournament.
The Guardian says an Australian Immigration Department employee inadvertently sent the group the passport numbers, visa details and other personal information of all the world leaders at the summit — including Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
A document obtained by The Guardian says the personal information included "the name, date of birth, title, position, nationality, passport number, visa grant number and visa subclass" of the international leaders.
But the report says Australian officials did not consider it necessary to inform the world leaders — who also included U.S. President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel — of the privacy breach.
An email to Harper's office asking if the prime minister had been informed of the breach was not answered Monday evening.
The report says an immigration officer looking into the incident recommended that the world leaders not be made aware of the breach of their personal information.
"Given that the risks of the breach are considered very low and the actions that have been taken to limit the further distribution of the email, I do not consider it necessary to notify the clients of the breach," she wrote.
