Privacy & Security

SHERBROOKE, Que. – A team of researchers from the Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS) and the École de technologie supérieure (ETS) has developed a solution that will make the transmission and archiving of medical information more secure. Artificial intelligence is used to analyze all types of medical data, make diagnoses and even monitor certain treatments. Read More

MANCHESTER, Conn. – Hospitals and clinics in several states began the time-consuming process of recovering from a cyberattack that disrupted their computer systems, forcing some emergency rooms to shut down and ambulances to be diverted. Many primary care services at facilities run by Prospect Medical Holdings remained closed last Friday as security experts worked to determine the extent of the problem and resolve it, the American Press reported. Read More

VANCOUVER – A cyber-attack on three websites hosted by the Health Employers Association of British Columbia may have seized the personal information of thousands of people working or applying to work in B.C.’s public healthcare sector. Michael McMillian (pictured), CEO of the association, said stolen information could include social insurance numbers, home addresses, passport and driver’s licence details, along with other personal information. He said 240,000 email addresses alone were possibly taken. Read More

OTTAWA – The head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security says ransomware attacks are getting more common and sophisticated, but there’s a lot the country could do to better defend itself. “The threat is real, the threat is growing and we can’t talk enough about it,” said Sami Khoury (pictured), whose organization is aimed at providing the federal government with information technology security and foreign signals intelligence. Read More

VICTORIA – A BC nurse has been suspended for snooping on medical records she had no right to. According to a July 6 BC College of Nurses and Midwives decision, Jacqueline Bureau has been suspended for six weeks for accessing the electronic health records of eight individuals who weren’t in her care. Read More

HALIFAX – One hundred thousand current and former employees of Nova Scotia Health, the IWK Health Centre, and the public service have had their payroll information stolen – including their social insurance numbers, addresses, and banking information. Read More

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – The ransomware attack that hit Newfoundland and Labrador’s healthcare IT systems in 2021 was “almost an inevitability” and resulted in the theft of personal data from the “vast majority” of the province’s population, says a report released at the end of May. Read More

OTTAWA – The Queensway Carleton Hospital sent out public notices of a data breach last week and is contacting patients individually. Up to 100,000 patients could be affected, the hospital said, and police have been notified. Read More

CORNWALL, Ont. – Last week, Cornwall Community Hospital (CCH) identified a network issue which an investigation has revealed to be a cyber incident. On its website, the hospital said it has retained external cyber experts to work with its technical team to resolve the issue. It has also informed its regional stakeholders, including law enforcement and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. Read More