Good work.
Personal information of voters living in 20-25 electoral districts is missing, confirms Elections Ontario boss Greg Essensa.
Two USB keys containing names, addresses, genders, birth dates and whether or not an elector voted in the last election — as well as any other personal information updates provided by electors — vanished at the end of April, Essensa, the Chief Electoral Officer, told a Queen’s Park press conference on Tuesday.
The Ontario Provincial Police have been called in to investigate the breach and the two employees responsible for the keys have been let go, he told reporters.
The two were supposed to secure the keys at the end of the working day but they failed to do so, he said. The next morning when they returned to work, the keys were gone, he added. In order to access the data on the USB keys you need special Elections Ontario software, Essensa noted.
“Let me be clear, there is no evidence that copies of personal information on two USB keys have been improperly accessed,” he said.
Essensa apologized to all Ontarians, saying Elections Ontario is undertaking a “rigorous search” for the missing two keys.
Members of the public are being asked to call 1-888-0NT-VOTE if they have any questions or fear something is amiss. The problem affects 20-25 of the total 107 electoral districts in the province.
Essensa said he wants the public to “monitor personal transaction statements” from governments, financial institutions and businesses and if they suspect something is amiss, they should contact those organizations immediately.
Speaking in Guelph, Premier Dalton McGuinty said he was informed of the problem late Monday.
“Well obviously it’s unfortunate we’ve got to take these privacy matters very seriously,” he said.
“I think we should allow the chief electoral officer an opportunity to speak to this today… provide us with a bit more information surrounding the loss of this information… and what assurances that he can provide all Ontarians that this kind of thing is not going to happen again.”
The missing keys do not indicate how a member of the public voted. The voting process guarantees the secrecy of how one votes, Essensa said.
Elections Ontario says personal data missing in more than 20 electoral districts - thestar.com
Personal information of voters living in 20-25 electoral districts is missing, confirms Elections Ontario boss Greg Essensa.
Two USB keys containing names, addresses, genders, birth dates and whether or not an elector voted in the last election — as well as any other personal information updates provided by electors — vanished at the end of April, Essensa, the Chief Electoral Officer, told a Queen’s Park press conference on Tuesday.
The Ontario Provincial Police have been called in to investigate the breach and the two employees responsible for the keys have been let go, he told reporters.
The two were supposed to secure the keys at the end of the working day but they failed to do so, he said. The next morning when they returned to work, the keys were gone, he added. In order to access the data on the USB keys you need special Elections Ontario software, Essensa noted.
“Let me be clear, there is no evidence that copies of personal information on two USB keys have been improperly accessed,” he said.
Essensa apologized to all Ontarians, saying Elections Ontario is undertaking a “rigorous search” for the missing two keys.
Members of the public are being asked to call 1-888-0NT-VOTE if they have any questions or fear something is amiss. The problem affects 20-25 of the total 107 electoral districts in the province.
Essensa said he wants the public to “monitor personal transaction statements” from governments, financial institutions and businesses and if they suspect something is amiss, they should contact those organizations immediately.
Speaking in Guelph, Premier Dalton McGuinty said he was informed of the problem late Monday.
“Well obviously it’s unfortunate we’ve got to take these privacy matters very seriously,” he said.
“I think we should allow the chief electoral officer an opportunity to speak to this today… provide us with a bit more information surrounding the loss of this information… and what assurances that he can provide all Ontarians that this kind of thing is not going to happen again.”
The missing keys do not indicate how a member of the public voted. The voting process guarantees the secrecy of how one votes, Essensa said.
Elections Ontario says personal data missing in more than 20 electoral districts - thestar.com