A number of residents whose personal information was exposed in what is being referred to as a “privacy breach” have received an apology from the City of Hamilton.
According to a statement from the city manager’s office, 450 people who registered to vote by mail in the upcoming municipal election in 2022 had their email addresses exposed when a message outlining the procedure was issued on Thursday.
“The city regrets the error and any distress that this incident may cause those who have used the Vote by Mail process,” a spokesperson for the city said in a statement sent by email on Friday.
Staff members provided an explanation in which they claimed that several email addresses were accidentally inserted in the “to:” line of the email rather than the “bcc:” box, exposing the email addresses of every recipient.
The city reported that “immediate action was taken to recall the message and to contact all affected individuals.”
The city manager’s office continued by stating that it takes the issue seriously and is getting ready to reassess the procedures for handling personal data.
Additionally, it intends to “proactively” inform Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC).
People who want to file a complaint can do so by contacting the IPC or the city clerk’s office’s manager of corporate records and privacy.
The City of Hamilton regrets the “privacy violation” caused by registrations for votes by mail.
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