Data breach may have exposed 200,000 home-care patients' information, say Ontario Liberals

1 week_ago 2

Toronto

Ontario's privateness commissioner and Ontario Health are investigating a information breach affecting Ontario Health atHome, the commissioner and wellness curate said connected Friday. 

Ontario Health atHome directed to instrumentality steps 'to guarantee this ne'er happens again': province

Rochelle Raveendran · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 27, 2025 11:23 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 hours ago

Doctor and a patient

Ontario Liberal MPP Dr. Adil Shamji says an alleged breach compromised the information of astir one-third of each home-care patients successful Ontario. (Getty Images/Cultura RF)

Ontario's privateness commissioner and Ontario Health are investigating a reported information breach affecting Ontario Health atHome, the province's home-care coordination service.

The incidental whitethorn person exposed personal wellness accusation for at least 200,000 home-care patients, the Ontario Liberals alleged in a quality merchandise Friday morning.

The breach occurred connected oregon astir March 17 of this twelvemonth but was not made public, the Liberals say.

"If exposed, this information tin pb to individuality theft, security fraud, discrimination, stigmatization, phishing, and blackmail," the quality merchandise read. 

Speaking astatine an unrelated quality league connected Friday, Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the incident involved a third-party vendor.

She said Ontario Health and Ontario Health AtHome are investigating the concern and volition notify idiosyncratic patients arsenic needed.

Ministry spokesperson Ema Popovic aboriginal told CBC Toronto that Ontario Health atHome has been directed to instrumentality steps "to guarantee this ne'er happens again."

"Our authorities expects each work providers to uphold the highest standards of diligent care, information and confidence. This includes taking contiguous steps to place erstwhile determination has been a cyber breach and to notify the Ministry of Health immediately," Popovic said successful an email.

"The information that this process was not followed is unacceptable."

Premier Doug Ford said the three-month delay successful making the incident public volition beryllium portion of the investigation. 

"We'll find retired wherever the spread is and wherefore it wasn't brought to our attraction a batch earlier," helium said. 

Privacy commissioner investigating

Liberal MPP Dr. Adil Shamji, an exigency country doc who represents Don Valley East, said helium archetypal sent a missive to the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) connected June 20 asking whether the incident was being investigated. 

He said helium did not person a effect and wrote a 2nd missive to the IPC formally requesting an probe connected Friday.

The IPC is an autarkic bureau that oversees Ontario's entree and privateness laws. It besides investigates privateness complaints related to idiosyncratic information. 

WATCH | Ontario Health atHome proviso shortage near immoderate patients without captious care: 

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Commissioner Patricia Kosseim responded to Shamji successful a missive Friday, confirming the IPC had received a study astir the incident.

"This substance is presently nether reappraisal by our office," she wrote successful the letter.

Kosseim said the IPC cannot supply further details as the bureau is in the archetypal stages of reviewing the report. 

Ontario Health atHome notified the commissioners' bureau astir the breach connected May 30, the bureau said successful an email. 

Under Ontario legislation, wellness accusation custodians are required to study definite breaches to the bureau and notify radical if their idiosyncratic wellness accusation is stolen, mislaid oregon utilized oregon disclosed without authority, the email said. 

In an email, a spokesperson for Ontario Health atHome did not corroborate however galore radical whitethorn person been affected by the breach, but said they are notifying those impacted "as rapidly arsenic possible."

"Throughout this process, we stay focused connected ensuring patients proceed to person the aesculapian supplies and instrumentality they request portion mitigating immoderate further privateness and information risks," the email read.

Nearly one-third of each location attraction patients affected: MPP

In his missive Friday to Kosseim, Shamji said that astir one-third of each home-care patients successful the state had their information compromised. 

"I consciousness compelled to follow-up due to the fact that I americium disquieted that Ontario Health atHome's nonaccomplishment to enactment connected this contented represents a wide and contiguous hazard to patients," helium wrote successful the letter. 

The quality merchandise from the Ontario Liberals said radical affected by information breaches should beryllium notified arsenic soon arsenic reasonably possible, typically wrong days to a fewer weeks. 

Shamji is "demanding the contiguous notification of impacted individuals and an mentation from Premier Ford for 3 and a fractional months of inaction," the merchandise reads.  

"This usurpation of idiosyncratic wellness accusation adds to a increasing database of Ontario Health atHome failures, including province-wide medicine shortages, depleted supplies of captious location attraction equipment, and unacceptable delays successful care," it said. 

The reported information breach comes after Ontario Health atHome's CEO was fired successful January pursuing persistent proviso problems successful the sector. 

In September, the institution launched caller proviso contracts for the transportation of aesculapian items, but the determination near immoderate patients — including radical successful palliative attraction — without captious supplies. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rochelle Raveendran is simply a newsman for CBC News Toronto. She tin beryllium reached at: [email protected].

    With files from Andrew Neary

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