BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
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Theft of NS Power customer data is likely ransomware attack: security experts
Security experts say the theft of customer data from Nova Scotia’s electric utility has the hallmarks of an extortion attempt by cybercriminals. In a news release following the April 25 data breach, the utility said it notified police about the theft and confirmed that “certain customer personal information was accessed and taken by an unauthorized…
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Key portfolios for business community to watch as Carney’s cabinet sworn in
Canada’s business community will be monitoring files across various portfolios after Tuesday’s swearing-in of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new cabinet. Corporate leaders and business associations say their priorities include holding Carney accountable when it comes to his promise of launching nation-building projects, along with hitting the reset button on the energy and environment files. Here…
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Illinois governor is first in US to block federal access to personal data on autism
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has signed a first-in-the-nation executive order to block the federal government from collecting personal health data related to autism, a direct rebuke to the Trump administration. Democrat Pritzker, who has been one of the more vocal critics of Trump’s second administration, signed the order last week, saying…
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Australian Senate committee recommends government ban on TikTok be extended to WeChat
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian Senate committee has recommended a ban on the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok from federal government devices be extended to China’s most popular social media platform, WeChat. The Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media also recommended in a report late Tuesday that social media giants such as Facebook and…
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New Brunswick Education Department received no complaints about pronouns kept secret
FREDERICTON — A freedom of information request filed by a University of New Brunswick professor has revealed that no parents complained to the province that they had been left in the dark about their children’s preferred pronouns. Melissa Dockrill Garrett, a researcher specializing in inclusive education, asked the Education Department for all complaints from parents…
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Cyberattack on B.C. health websites may have taken workers’ personal information
VANCOUVER — A cyberattack in British Columbia may have compromised the personal information of thousands of health-care workers, including those the province is trying to recruit to fill much-needed jobs. The Health Employers Association of British Columbia said Tuesday that the attack was on three websites it hosts, and personal information associated with 240,000 email…
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Amazon adds video telemedicine visits nationwide to its virtual clinic
Amazon is adding video telemedicine visits in all 50 states to a virtual clinic it launched last fall, as the e-commerce giant pushes deeper into care delivery. Amazon said Tuesday that customers can visit its virtual clinic around the clock through Amazon’s website or app. There, they can compare prices and response times before picking…
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US restricts visa free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The United States imposed new travel restrictions on citizens of Hungary on Tuesday over concerns that the identities of nearly 1 million foreigners granted Hungarian passports over nine years weren’t sufficiently verified, according to the U.S. Embassy and a government official. The restrictions apply to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which…
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Impeached Texas AG Ken Paxton seeks to have most charges dismissed before September trial
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lawyers for impeached Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday sought to have most of the charges against him dismissed, arguing that they rely on alleged acts of corruption before he was reelected to a third term in 2022. In motions filed with the Senate, where Paxton’s impeachment trial is…
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Federal government struggling to get rid of millions of extra COVID 19 rapid tests
OTTAWA — The federal government is sitting on a stockpile of 39 million extra rapid tests for COVID-19 and is struggling to get rid of them without chucking them in the trash, an internal Health Canada memo shows. As the Omicron variant of the virus began to tear across Canada at the end of 2021,…