Personal data of 15,000 electors leaked

The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) said on Friday that the personal information of 15,000 electors has been leaked as one of its staff members mistakenly sent the files to an unknown email address.

The office said the staff member had intended to send the files to her personal email account on Wednesday to facilitate her work, but entered an incorrect address.

The files – containing the Chinese and English names, as well as residential addresses of about 15,000 registered voters – were subsequently emailed to an unknown recipient.

The office said it has notified the recipient via email to permanently delete the files.

It added that the staff member has violated departmental guidelines and has been assigned to other duties.

The REO apologised to the electors affected and said they will be notified.

It said the case has been reported to the police, the Privacy Commissioner, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and the Electoral Affairs Commission.

It said it will investigate the incident and carry out a review to prevent similar occurrences, adding that it will remind all staff members to comply with departmental guidelines and exercise due care when handling electors’ personal data.