Yet another privacy breach at Govt department

[Erica Absetz <erica () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/yet-another-privacy-breach-govt-department-5391914

There has been another privacy breach at a Government department, this
time at the Ministry of Health.

ONE News has discovered that 19 people have been affected by a
printing error which saw high use cards sent out to the wrong
addresses.

A Dunedin woman who received her son's high use card in the mail said
attached to it was another letter with another high use card for
someone else.

She said it was for "no one that I know, totally different city,
totally different name, totally different address, everything".

The mother of two, who we have not named, immediately rang the
Ministry of Health who told her a mechanical error with a printer
meant two letters, with two cards, had been placed in one envelope.

"I was very shocked," she said.

"I at first sort of didn't really know what to do, it just concerned
me. I thought if this has come to me, what else has gone to wherever
else?"

The Ministry of Health has apologised to all 19 people affected by the glitch.

As a precaution it is issuing 366 replacement cards for all those in
the batch of cards thought to be affected, and cancelling those sent
out.

The privacy breach involves the name and addresses of the card
recipients, but does not include any medical details.

It comes in the wake of recent high profile privacy breaches at ACC,
EQC and the Ministry of Environment.

The Ministry of Health says its breach is resolved and has asked the
contractor involved to include an automatic checking process so the
same mistake cannot be made again.
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