August 28, 2020
Province Advises of Privacy Breach Affecting Clients of Children's Disability Services
Manitoba Families is reporting a privacy breach that unintentionally shared personal information about Children’s Disability Services (CDS) clients with service agencies and community advocates that work with individuals with disabilities.
On Aug. 26, CDS staff accidentally sent an email intended for the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth (MACY) to about 100 agencies and advocacy groups. The email contained a spreadsheet with information about approximately 9,000 children who are CDS clients, as well as information about a matter currently being reviewed by MACY. It included personal information about these children, including their diagnosis and address, but did not include personal health identification numbers, social insurance numbers or any financial information. The spreadsheet was password-protected, but the password was also provided.
Yesterday, the province called service agencies and advocacy groups that received the email in error to confirm it was deleted. Manitoba Families has agreements in place with service providers that set out expectations for protecting personal information, in addition to their broader legal requirement to protect privacy and confidentiality.
The province is calling all of the affected families to advise them of the breach and apologize for the error, and will also follow up by email or mail. Manitoba Families recognizes it has a serious responsibility to protect the personal information of its clients.
The mistake was human error, however the department is following up with staff to review and improve processes to avoid this happening again.
MACY has been informed of this issue. This matter has also been referred to the Manitoba Ombudsman, as is standard practice.
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