Interior Health Authority ends privacy breach investigation

The Interior Health Authority says there's no evidence of further privacy breaches after an investigation by an outside privacy and security expert.

Health authority officials say in a press release the initial privacy breach involving approximately 500 current and former employees likely happened in December 2009.

That’s when they believe someone improperly accessed a database with personal information for all health authority employees employed between January 2003 and December 2009.

The information included social insurance numbers, birth dates, email and mailing addresses and phone numbers.

While no evidence exists of the information being used illegally, the health authority says anyone who worked within that timeframe should be aware of the breach and take extra precautions with their identification, credit cards and passwords.

If employees have concerns their information may have been breached or may have been a victim of identity theft, they should call both the RCMP and the Interior Health Authority. It has established a phone line for current and former employees, 1-877-469-7059, available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday.

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