Human error blamed for Eastern Ontario school board data breach | Ottawa Citizen
Human error blamed for Eastern Ontario school board data breach
A mass email was sent last Saturday evening as part of the board's communication with families whenever it is notified by public health of a new confirmed COVID-19 case tied to one of its schools.
Author of the article:Shawna O'Neill
Publishing date:Nov 04, 2021 • 6 days ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario chair Todd Lalonde confirmed Thursday the data breach was a result of a human error by a board employee.
Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario chair Todd Lalonde confirmed Thursday the data breach was a result of a human error by a board employee. PHOTO BY FRANCIS RACINE /Postmedia
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CORNWALL — Last Saturday evening, an email with a link to private information was sent from the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario to parents and guardians of St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School students.
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This email is said to have included a link to a document with personal information about hundreds of students and their parents/guardians, including names, addresses and contact information. It was sent out as part of the board’s communication with families whenever it is notified by public health of a new confirmed COVID-19 case tied to one of its schools.
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The message contained information provided by the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, leading to speculation the breach may have been within the health unit. The health unit relies on school boards to provide contact information for students and their families so its contact-tracers can ensure those who may have been at risk from a school-related COVID-19 case are informed and given direction.
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EOHU communications manager Karine Hebert confirmed earlier this week the breach did not involve the health unit.
CDSBEO chair Todd Lalonde, who is also the trustee for the Cornwall area, confirmed Thursday the data breach was a result of a human error by a school board employee.
“On Saturday night, a letter was sent out and the letter was in regards to COVID-19. Again, we are asking our employees on a Saturday evening to put time in to ensure schools are front and centre and kept up to date on the health situation of our board. Truth be said, a human error was made. The employee feels bad for the situation. But, in fairness to the employee, we are asking them to do work on a Saturday evening,” Lalonde said. “It is being dealt with internally. For parents out there, we apologize. As a board, we greatly regret what happened.”
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Families at St. Joseph were sent a second email once the board became aware of the breach, explaining that personal information had been made publicly available through an open link to a text file that hundreds of recipients may have accessed. The link to the file was severed, the file moved into a more secure area and the board asked any families that may have opened or downloaded the data to erase it.
Lalonde said the board would be looking into how to prevent privacy breaches from happening again, including the consideration of hiring more staff members to share workloads.
“I have to admit from a board’s perspective we don’t take this lightly. We are going to take a long look at it and we are going to make sure it doesn’t happen again. And we do apologize to our many students and parents out there,” Lalonde repeated.
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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, employees across various sectors have been asked to work outside typical office hours and take on more responsibility. Lalonde emphasized that CDSBEO employees were no exception to this and said that, “It doesn’t matter what workplace we work in right now, people are overworked and people are tired.
“This individual is a great employee of our board,” Lalonde said. “None of us live a perfect life … and we have asked a lot out of our employees.”
Some affected parents took to social media to express concern about the data breach starting on Sunday.
A mass email was sent last Saturday evening as part of the board's communication with families whenever it is notified by public health of a new confirmed COVID-19 case tied to one of its schools.
Author of the article:Shawna O'Neill
Publishing date:Nov 04, 2021 • 6 days ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario chair Todd Lalonde confirmed Thursday the data breach was a result of a human error by a board employee.
Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario chair Todd Lalonde confirmed Thursday the data breach was a result of a human error by a board employee. PHOTO BY FRANCIS RACINE /Postmedia
Article content
CORNWALL — Last Saturday evening, an email with a link to private information was sent from the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario to parents and guardians of St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School students.
Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
This email is said to have included a link to a document with personal information about hundreds of students and their parents/guardians, including names, addresses and contact information. It was sent out as part of the board’s communication with families whenever it is notified by public health of a new confirmed COVID-19 case tied to one of its schools.
On The Same Page Episode 599
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The message contained information provided by the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, leading to speculation the breach may have been within the health unit. The health unit relies on school boards to provide contact information for students and their families so its contact-tracers can ensure those who may have been at risk from a school-related COVID-19 case are informed and given direction.
Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
EOHU communications manager Karine Hebert confirmed earlier this week the breach did not involve the health unit.
CDSBEO chair Todd Lalonde, who is also the trustee for the Cornwall area, confirmed Thursday the data breach was a result of a human error by a school board employee.
“On Saturday night, a letter was sent out and the letter was in regards to COVID-19. Again, we are asking our employees on a Saturday evening to put time in to ensure schools are front and centre and kept up to date on the health situation of our board. Truth be said, a human error was made. The employee feels bad for the situation. But, in fairness to the employee, we are asking them to do work on a Saturday evening,” Lalonde said. “It is being dealt with internally. For parents out there, we apologize. As a board, we greatly regret what happened.”
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STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
Families at St. Joseph were sent a second email once the board became aware of the breach, explaining that personal information had been made publicly available through an open link to a text file that hundreds of recipients may have accessed. The link to the file was severed, the file moved into a more secure area and the board asked any families that may have opened or downloaded the data to erase it.
Lalonde said the board would be looking into how to prevent privacy breaches from happening again, including the consideration of hiring more staff members to share workloads.
“I have to admit from a board’s perspective we don’t take this lightly. We are going to take a long look at it and we are going to make sure it doesn’t happen again. And we do apologize to our many students and parents out there,” Lalonde repeated.
Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, employees across various sectors have been asked to work outside typical office hours and take on more responsibility. Lalonde emphasized that CDSBEO employees were no exception to this and said that, “It doesn’t matter what workplace we work in right now, people are overworked and people are tired.
“This individual is a great employee of our board,” Lalonde said. “None of us live a perfect life … and we have asked a lot out of our employees.”
Some affected parents took to social media to express concern about the data breach starting on Sunday.
