Law firm considering potential class action

A Halifax-based law firm is exploring a potential classaction lawsuit arising from the recent breach of Nova Scotia’s freedom of information web portal involving about 7,000 sensitive documents.

Last week Halifax Police charged a Halifax man for breaching the province’s freedom of information web portal. His name has not yet been released.

The documents were inappropriately accessed between March 3 and March 5. Some of the documents contained personal information including birth dates, social insurance numbers, addresses and government services’ client information.

Deputy Minister Jeff Conrad has confirmed that thousands of people could have been affected by the breach.

Wagners law firm is asking anyone who resides in Nova Scotia and has been informed of or is concerned that their information was inappropriately accessed as a result of the breach to contact the firm to discuss the situation further.

The inappropriate access of the documents was first noticed when a provincial employee was inadvertently granted sequential access to every document available on the portal, through a vulnerability in the freedom of information web portal system.

The Internal Services Department did not inform the public immediately of the breach, instead waited nearly a week for the police investigation to unfold.

Information and Privacy Commissioner Catherine Tully has launched an investigation into the breach of the government’s access to information web portal, examining the adequacy of the security of the system, and whether the Department of Internal Services was in compliance with Nova Scotia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

“It’s very concerning that highly sensitive information was compromised and accessed so readily, and that on top of that, the government delayed informing the public, and those whose information was accessed, of the breach,” lawyer Ray Wagner of Wagners said in a news release.