Ontario reveals how many people were impacted by COVID-19 vaccine portal breach
A security breach linked to Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine portal exposed the personal information of approximately 360,000 people in the province.
Those who are impacted will start receiving email notices on Friday if their personal information was part of this breach.
“In over 95 per cent of cases, only names and/or phone numbers were impacted,” Ontario’s Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery said in a statement on Friday.
On Nov. 16, 2021, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) launched an investigation after reports surfaced of spam text messages received by individuals who scheduled appointments or accessed vaccine certificates through the COVID-19 immunization system.
Since then, investigators have been working towards determining the scale and impact of the breach.
A week later, two people were charged – one of the individuals was a government employee.
Twenty-one-year-old Ottawa resident Ayoub Sayid and 22-year-old Rahim Abdu from Quebec were both charged with Unauthorized Use of a Computer contrary to s. 342.1(1)(c) of the Criminal Code.
“Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine booking system is regularly monitored and tested as part of the Ministry of Health’s cyber security protocols and we remain confident that the booking system continues to be a safe and secure tool for Ontarians to use,” the minister said.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I WAS IMPACTED?
Ontarians whose data was exposed during the breach will receive an email with the subject: Personal Health Information Notification.
The email is penned by the Chief Information Officer and Assistant Deputy of the Minister Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre.
The email begins with the following: “I am contacting you to notify you about a privacy breach that involved your personal health information registered in the COVID-19 immunization system used by the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre and vaccine administrators at clinics across the province.”
The email explains that in recent months, the OPP investigation led to a list of people impacted by this privacy breach based on evidence seized.
It then goes on to say, “The accused’s laptops seized by the OPP contained your name and phone number.”
“I assure you the COVID-19 immunization system is regularly monitored and tested as part of our cyber security protocols to ensure the safety of the COVID-19 system and we are confident in the security of the data currently in the system,” the email concludes.
With files from CTV News Toronto's Katherine DeClerq.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Nine suspects arrested in $24M gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport: Peel police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Father of boy accused of stabbing 2 Australian clerics saw no signs of extremism, Muslim leader says
The father of a boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics in Australia saw no signs of his son’s extremism, a Muslim community leader said on Wednesday as police began arresting suspected rioters who besieged a Sydney church demanding revenge.
500 Newfoundlanders wound up on the same cruise and it turned into a rocking kitchen party
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
Liberals must now sell a budget they say will help younger Canadians catch up
It's now up to the federal Liberal government to sell a spending plan it says will help younger Canadians catch up to their elders.
Ontario woman out $30K after investing in mortgage company accused of being unlicensed
An Ontario nurse is fighting to recover tens of thousands of dollars in savings she invested in a mortgage company that has since been accused of operating without a licence.
Canada is expected to win 22 medals at the Paris Olympics
Canada is expected to win a total of 22 medals, including six gold, at the Paris Summer Olympics, which open on July 26.