Fire services body reports potential data leak

The Fire Services Department (FSD) on Monday said the personal information of thousands of people, including its staff and individuals who filed tree collapse reports during a super typhoon, could have been leaked after the right to access the data was altered without permission. But it reassured the public there was no evidence that any such data had actually been released. The department said it discovered personal data potentially being exposed on one of its IT systems last Friday, which involved the surnames and telephone numbers of some 480 people who had reported tree collapses when Super Typhoon Saola hit Hong Kong in September last year. About 5,000 fire services staff were also affected and had their names, phone numbers, ranks and numbers, and postings subject to the potential leak, with some even having their incomplete identity card numbers possibly exposed. "The FSD believes that the incident happened when the outsourced contractor handled the data migration procedure. During the process, the access right of the data was found altered without authorisation, posing a potential risk of data leakage," a spokesperson said. The department has demanded the outsourced contractor to immediately suspend the system and all of its contract jobs, while withdrawing its access right to the system to prevent data being exposed. It also apologised and notified those affected through text messages or phone calls. The latest incident came after a string of data breaches at major public bodies, such as the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and the Companies Registry, with a lawmaker calling for the heads of government departments responsible for such leaks to be held accountable for the blunders.