Thousands Of B.C. Health-Care Workers’ Information Exposed In Data Breach

Thousands of health-care workers’ personal information has been compromised in a data breach that’s targeted servers at the Health Employers Association of BC.

Hackers had access to the system from May 9 to June 10, and the breach wasn’t detected until July 13, according to the association.

Health minister Adrian Dix described the information as stolen, but claimed ministry services are not impacted.

Association president and CEO Michael McMillan was unable to say how many workers were impacted but said there are 240,000 email addresses involved and linked to passport information, drivers licenses, birthdays, and social insurance numbers.

He says no one has asked for a ransom and refused to answer questions about the nature of the breach, and if the hackers had exploited the same vulnerabilities as other government agencies who’ve fallen victim to bad actors.

It’s not clear how much personal information is exposed, and which groups have it.

Both Dix and McMillan emphasized they’ve consulted cyber security experts to help manage the situation.