City of Hamilton data breach included home addresses, phone numbers

The City of Hamilton says it did not accurately notify the victims of a recent data breach regarding the extent to which their personal information had been exposed.

READ MORE: Privacy Commissioner notified in wake of data breach at Hamilton city hall

Initially, the city confirmed that the private emails of registered delegates had been publicly exposed. It is now known that the personal home addresses and phone numbers of those individuals were also visible from the data spill.

A press release from the city said it was “not fully accurate” in the information it shared with those impacted by the breach.

In addition to downplaying how much personal information had been revealed, the city says more people have had their private data publicized than originally thought.

According to the recent report, their method for redacting information that resulted in the breach had been used on other occasions.

As a result, the total number of breaches discovered rose from 32 to 59.

The city says it has notified the additional individuals affected and has re-redacted all impacted documents.

Acting City Clerk Janet Pilot said the breach occurred when hovering over the redacted area of individuals’ submissions that were included in the budget meeting agenda.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has been notified of the incident.