Government softens tone on reaction to privacy breach

The government's tone about a flaw in its freedom-of-information portal and the subsequent release of thousands of personal documents softened Tuesday, a day after CBC News interviewed the person facing charges in the matter.

A 19-year-old man from Halifax faces a charge of unauthorized use of a computer in connection with downloading 7,000 documents in early March, something he was able to do by altering the portal's URL in an effort to gather information he said was for research.

But on Tuesday government members were more reserved in how they talked about the situation. McNeil said the government did what they thought was appropriate.

"We didn't know who the person was, we didn't know of any context of it," he told reporters at Province House. "We'll see what happens with the information. It's not my investigation."

Labour Minister Labi Kousoulis had some of the most forceful language about the situation and what it could mean last week during an emergency debate on the matter. On Tuesday, Kousoulis said government members were never briefed on the situation.

"We had no information about the individual," he said.

Kousoulis said he hopes statements from the 19-year-old that there was no ill intentare accurate.

"If that's what the evidence suggests then I'm sure the individual will have no problem."

700 people affected

While last week government officials suggested thousands of people were affected, on TuesdayInternal Services Minister Patricia Arab confirmed a total of about 700 people were affected and all would be notified by the end of the week.

A government spokesperson confirmed there was no marking on the documents to indicate they wereprivate or not intended for public view. McNeil said government staff continue to try to determine what happened with the portal, but he also restated his belief that changing the portal's URL to access documents is illegal.

"It is when it comes to private information. Now we need to know what happened to that information."

Not a crime, say some

But Evan d'Entremont, an IT security professional in Halifax, said government members' comments show a lack of understanding of how the FOI portal was set up and internet use in general. What the 19-year-old did is not a crime, he said.

"To say they're inept in an understatement," he said. "It was public information on a public server."

D'Entremont said the issue is getting wide coverage within the IT community and he's concerned about the message the government is sending to people doing internet research.

"If they keep pushing on this and if the kid is found guilty then, yeah, the security research in this province will stop overnight."

Police raid

McNeil said he's had no contact with police on the matter and referred questions about how they have conducted their investigation to the police force.

CBC News reported that 15 members of Halifax Regional Police attended the 19-year-old man's home, where he lives with his parents and siblings. There has been widespread criticism of the number of officers involved in the arrest and the way the home was searched.

Tory MLA Karla MacFarlane said the change in tone from the government was obvious. It seems the government is saying, 'Oh my goodness, this is our fault,' said MacFarlane.

"They're not ready to admit that, but in due time I think they will have to."

NDP Leader Gary Burrill said the faultfalls squarely at the feet of the government, noting they were warned about IT security shortcomings several years ago by the auditor general.