REGINA -- The provincial Opposition is calling on the Information and Privacy Commissioner to investigate a possible security breach in the Hunting, Angling and Trapping License (HAL) System.
The NDP said some hunters have received emails with other individuals’ names and account numbers.
The online registration system is operated on the provincial government’s behalf by an American company.
The government declined an interview, but in a written statement, the Ministry of Environment blamed human error by a third-party service provider, adding it is confident that no personal information has been jeopardized as a result of this error.
The ministry said there were approximately 33,000 emails sent where the recipient did not necessarily match the person the email was intended for. It is unclear exactly how many names and HAL numbers were shared with unintended recipients.
The ministry confirmed that information sent out included the name and account number of licensed hunters, anglers and trappers.
According to the government, online accounts are password protected, so the accounts cannot be accessed by others with just a name and HAL number.
The government is offering new account numbers to those who request it.
Both the government and the NDP have reported the incident the province’s privacy commissioner.
This most recent allegation comes on the heels of two other significant security breaches in the province. On Oct. 30, Saskatchewan Polytechnic was affected by a cyber security incident that caused the temporary cancellation of both online and in-person classes. In early 2020, more than 500,000 files containing personal information were potentially exposed to a ransomware attack on eHealth Saskatchewan.
