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Information of 360,000 people affected in Ontario COVID-19 vaccine data breach in 2021

For about 95 per cent of those people affected, the government said only their names and/or phone numbers were involved.

A pedestrian walks past a Covid 19 vaccination poster in Toronto in a photo taken in February.
A pedestrian walks past a Covid 19 vaccination poster in Toronto in a photo taken in February. Photo by Peter J. Thompson /Postmedia

TORONTO — The Ontario government began notifying about 360,000 people on Friday that their personal information had been part of a COVID-19 vaccine database breach that took place more than a year ago.

The breach happened on Nov. 16, 2021, and the Ontario Provincial Police charged two people, including an employee of the province’s vaccine contact centre.

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Since then, the government says it has been working with the police and privacy commissioner, and it has taken time to determine the scale and impact of such a breach.

The Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery said it had confidence in the vaccine booking system.

“Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine booking system is regularly monitored and tested as part of the Ministry of Health’s cybersecurity protocols,” it wrote in a statement. “We remain confident that the booking system continues to be a safe and secure tool for Ontarians to use.”

For about 95 per cent of the 360,000 people affected, the government said only their names and/or phone numbers were involved.

Provincial police had said they began investigating after the Ontario government received reports of spam text messages from people who had scheduled appointments or accessed vaccine certificates through the booking portal.

Investigators charged a 22-year-old from Gloucester and a 22-year-old from Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., with one count each of unauthorized use of a computer.

Police said the Gloucester resident was an employee with the vaccine contact centre in the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services.

A government spokesperson had said the accused worked through a third-party vendor in the vaccine booking call centre, but was no longer employed by the government.

The government said at the time that no personal health information was accessed.