What's a privacy breach?
A privacy breach occurs when personal information or personal health information is:
- accidentally lost or altered; and
- accessed, collected, used, disclosed or disposed of in an unauthorized manner.
The most common privacy breaches occur when information about patients, clients or employees is:
- stolen;
- lost; or
- mistakenly disclosed.
Some examples of privacy breaches are:
- losing equipment or devices that contain personal information or having them stolen;
- sharing sensitive personal information via email, outside of a government firewall;
- faxing personal information to the wrong number;
- storing personal information on a flash drive, USB stick or external hard drive that was not encrypted and losing the device; or
- snooping or browsing through information systems.
Who's responsible for privacy breaches?
The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act makes public bodies accountable for the protection of personal privacy. The Act protects personal information by limiting its:
- collection;
- use; and
- disclosure.
What if I think my privacy has been breached?
If you suspect your privacy has been breached, you can fill out a privacy breach report.
Once complete, we submit the form to the privacy officer in the government department where you believe the breach has occurred.
The privacy officer will:
- assess the information provided;
- evaluate whether a breach has occurred; and
- provide you with information on their assessment.
Submitting your complaint
Contact the privacy officer in the department to which you want to submit your complaint. They will let you know the best way to submit the specific information related to your inquiry.
If you are unsure which department to contact, who the correct privacy officer is, or would like more information on privacy breaches, email atipp.office@yukon.ca or phone 867-393-7048.
If you are not satisfied with how your complaint was handled, you have the right to contact the Yukon’s Office of the Information Privacy Commissioner.
Find out more about how to make a privacy complaint against the government.