Human error to blame for data breach involving more than 5,600 people in P.E.I.

A person is seen typing on a keyboard in this stock photo. (Ron Lach/Pexels)

CHARLOTTETOWN -

More than 5,600 clients of a provincial employment program on Prince Edward Island may have had their personal information compromised after a privacy breach.

The head of SkillsPEI says human error was to blame.

Mary Hunter told CTV News Monday, the breach occurred June 13 and was reported the same day it happened.

Hunter said an email was inadvertently sent to an “inaccurate address.”

Neither she nor the department would elaborate, refusing to say where the email from SkillsPEI ended up.

Hunter did say, the breach wasn’t the result of a cyber hack or an employee clicking on a Phishing email.

The information includes dates of birth, addresses, education and employment history.

Those impacted by the breach were set to receive a letter from the province as early as this week. CTV reached out to the PEI government Friday to see if this was done, but didn’t receive an answer.

The letter is expected to include information on how those impacted can access two years of free credit monitoring services through TransUnion of Canada.

Those impacted by the breach are set to receive a letter from the province as early as this week.

The letter will include information on how those impacted can access two years of free credit monitoring services through TransUnion of Canada.

Asked, in a follow-up email, why it took almost a month for the privacy breach to be made public, SkillsPEI said the priority was to contain and mitigate any further potential risk.

“This involved bringing subject matter experts in and ensuring supports for impacted clients were in place so when they were notified through the letters, everything would be ready for them to access,” Vicki Tse, a Department of Workforce, Advanced Learning and Population spokesperson, replied.

Among its priorities, SkillsPEI offers programs and services for job seekers, employers and organizations.

Other information that may have gone out includes:

• primary phone number
• email address
• social insurance number
• citizenship status
• visible minority status
• spoken language(s)
• gender identity
• marital status
• number of dependent children
• case management organization
• SkillsPEI program outcomes

For the latest P.E.I. news, visit our dedicated provincial page.