A long-withheld investigation into a 2019 hacking at LifeLabs Inc. that compromised millions of CanadiansB次元官网网址� health data has finally been made public after an Ontario court dismissed the companyB次元官网网址檚 appeal to prevent its release.
A statement from the privacy commissioners of both Ontario and British Columbia says their joint report, completed in June 2020, found that LifeLabs B次元官网网址渇ailed to take reasonable stepsB次元官网网址� to protect clientsB次元官网网址� data while collecting more personal health information than was B次元官网网址渞easonably necessary.B次元官网网址�
The report ordered LifeLabs to address a number of issues such as appropriately staffing its security team, and the commissionersB次元官网网址� statement says the company complied with all of the orders and recommendations.
LifeLabs had cited litigation and solicitor-client privilege to prevent the documentB次元官网网址檚 publication, but this was opposed by the commissionersB次元官网网址� offices.
The company then sought a judicial review in Divisional Court in Ontario before the case made its way to the Ontario Court of Appeal, where LifeLabsB次元官网网址� appeal was dismissed.
B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner Michael Harvey says in a statement that B次元官网网址渢he road to accountability and transparency has been too longB次元官网网址� for the victims of the data breach.
B次元官网网址淟ifeLabsB次元官网网址� failure to put in place adequate safeguards to protect against this attack violated patientsB次元官网网址� trust, and the risk it exposed them to was unacceptable,B次元官网网址� Harvey says. B次元官网网址淲hen this happens, it is important to learn from past mistakes so others can prevent future breaches from happening.
B次元官网网址淏ut to learn from lessons, we need to share them.B次元官网网址�
Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Patricia Kosseim says in the statement that she is pleased with the courtB次元官网网址檚 decision to uphold the decision by her office B次元官网网址渢o help restore public trust in the oversight mechanisms designed to hold organizations accountable.B次元官网网址�
In May, Canadians who applied to be part of a class-action lawsuit against LifeLabs began receiving cheques and e-transfers, with administrator KPMG saying more than 900,000 valid claims were received.
An Ontario court had approved a total Canada-wide settlement of up to $9.8 million in the data breach, which allowed hackers to access the personal information of up to 15 million customers.
