Privacy & Security

TORONTO – Toronto’s University Health Network (UHN) says a list of staff who are unvaccinated for COVID-19, have a medical reason for not being vaccinated, or haven’t declared their vaccination status, was accidentally emailed out to dozens of people in what a UHN spokesperson called a “breach of privacy.” Read More

FREDERICTON – The parents of a 16-year-old girl who committed suicide were initially prevented from seeing their daughter’s medical records at Horizon Health, where she went for treatment. The parents of Lexi Daken (pictured) are now being allowed to see the records – but only her last two visits, and only by agreeing not to share the records with media or other third parties, except legal advisers. Read More

SAINT JOHN, N.B. – An employee at the Charlotte County Hospital in St. Stephen, N.B. has been dismissed after the individual “inappropriately accessed” the personal health information of 1,251 people. The Horizon Health Network is calling it a “significant privacy breach.” The health authority hasn't confirmed the period of time in which the breaches occurred. Read More

TORONTO – Humber River Hospital is continuing to work through the shutdown of its computer systems in response to an extensive malware attack last week. The hospital had deactivated all of its computers as a safety precaution against the attack, which was a form of ransomware. Because the organization caught the malware early, it believes that it avoided the loss of data and has not received demands for a ransom. Read More

TORONTO – The Humber River Hospital – one of Canada’s most computerized hospitals – announced that it suffered a malware attack on Monday morning that led the organization to shut down all its information technology systems and to declare a Code Grey, meaning the loss of essential services. Read More

WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority announced that in March 2021, a bag belonging to a Home Care employee of the WRHA was stolen from her vehicle. The bag contained information pertaining to the employee's daily schedule of activities, including personal health information for her clients. Read More

TORONTO – CDW Canada, a leading provider of technology solutions and services for Canadian organizations, has released its 2021 cybersecurity study, Innovation in Cybersecurity: Approach, Tools and Technologies. It reveals that regular penetration testing, multi-layer framework-based approaches to cloud consumption and third-party risk management all play a critical role in mitigating cybersecurity incidents for Canadian businesses. Read More

RED DEER, Alta. – An internal investigation by Alberta Health Services (AHS) revealed 3,224 patients had their electronic health records accessed improperly over a two-year period at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre (RDRHC) by two clerical employees in the Diagnostic Imaging (DI) department. Read More

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – Four Ontario hospitals are launching a digital identity service to give patients a convenient and secure method to access health information and services online. This initiative is being led by Niagara Health, building on the hospital’s foundational Navigator mobile app technology. Read More

OTTAWA – A new e-learning program will teach healthcare teams about the extreme and escalating risk of cyber-attacks in the healthcare industry – and how to avoid them. Saegis, a subsidiary of the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA), recently rolled out its comprehensive Saegis Shield program, an accredited cybersecurity and privacy awareness e-learning program that addresses the unique needs within Canadian healthcare. Read More