Review of missing data of students launched

An Indo-Canadian minister has launched a review of the management of information after an un-encrypted backup hard drive containing personal information of nearly 3.4 million Canadian students was reported missing.

Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services Minister Amrik Virk has launched the review after a hard drive containing British Columbian and Yukon students' information from 1986 to 2009 was misplaced, Voice Online reported on Tuesday.

The issue was discovered during a complete records review undertaken by the ministry of education to ensure it was in compliance with data-storage standards.

Even after extensive physical and electronic searches, the hard drive, created in 2011, could not be located.

The government, however, said the privacy risk is considered low because the hard drive does not contain financial information.

Virk said the government was doing everything possible to protect personal information and prevent privacy breaches.

"British Columbians expect us to ensure their information is safe -- and this is an incident that should have never happened," he was quoted as saying.

"I have directed the province's chief information officer to undertake a review to make sure that our privacy protection policies and procedures are robust," he added.