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Privacy Commissioner Raps B.C. For Massive Privacy Protection Failure

The Canadian Press, 28 Jan, 2016 12:45 PM

VICTORIA — British Columbia's privacy watchdog says the Education Ministry failed to protect the personal information of millions of students and teachers when it lost a hard drive containing 30 years of information.

An investigation report by Elizabeth Denham says the ministry did not secure a portable hard drive containing personal information of 3.4 million B.C. and Yukon students and teachers.

The hard drive, which wasn't encrypted and would allow easy access to the information, was reported missing last August after an extensive search by up to 50 bureaucrats at a secret government warehouse.

The report says the ministry breached the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act when it failed to protect the information.

Denham makes nine recommendations to strengthen the security of personal information, including encrypting all mobile data storage devices and maintaining accurate inventories of personal information.

The government said the data on the hard drive contains names, grades, postal codes and personal education numbers of students, and includes potentially sensitive information about children in care and teacher retirements.

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