Banff 
Alberta says there might have been a privacy breach in the province’s vaccine record site.
Alberta in a news release stated, “a technical issue on the website used to access the updated QR code vaccine record for travel has resulted in a possible privacy breach on the morning of Nov. 24.”
The province on Nov. 24th released an updated vaccine record with QR code that meets the recommended Canadian standard for domestic and international travel.
As per the news release, “Alberta Health’s support desk received 12 reports from Albertans that they got the wrong vaccine record when they entered their information on the website. The information that appeared on the record is the name, date of birth and the COVID-19 vaccination information.”
“The QR code record is not connected to any other health or personal information.”
The province shut down the website immediately following these reports with users getting “a System Update in Progress” message. Later, the vaccine record was reverted to the previous version.
Many users also complained that the new QR code record was not recognized by the Alberta Covid Record Verifier app.
Alberta says while the errors do not appear to be caused by a security breach to the system, an investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the technical problem and the number of Albertans affected.
Minister of Health Jason Copping said, “Protecting Albertans’ personal information is always our top priority and I apologize for this potential breach. Alberta Health took immediate action by taking the website and the updated record down. I want to assure Albertans they will be kept informed once the investigation is complete and the updated record for travel will be available as soon as the technical issue is addressed.”
Currently, Albertans can access the previous version of the vaccine record with the QR code at alberta.ca/CovidRecords.
The updated standardized record for travel is not required for travel but recommended once available.
The province is advising Albertans who are planning to travel to check the required travel documents with the Government of Canada and their destination ahead of any interprovincial or international travel.
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has been informed about the situation.
