Personal information of nearly 900 psychology students — including names, ID numbers and academic standing — was leaked in error by UBC’s psychology department in an email on September 3.
Other information on the spreadsheet such as students’ cumulative averages and international student status was also sent to psychology students along with an email to promote Imagine Day.
Student home and email addresses, phone numbers and financial information were not included in the spreadsheet.
Three hours later, the department apologized for the “attachment error” and asked recipients of the email to delete the message immediately.
Students took to Reddit to express frustration over the leak. One user wrote “This is a gross invasion of privacy,” while another said “I was gagged when I saw this earlier today.”
This is unreal.
byu/harrizzment inUBC
In a statement to The Ubyssey, Dr. Toni Schmader, psychology department head, said the department "immediately took steps to contain the situation" once discovered such as contacting UBC IT, initiating the Tuesday message recall and asking students to delete the email.
Schmader said the department is working on notifying UBC's Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the affected students.
Students affected by this error will receive an additional notification on Thursday, said Schmader.
"We sincerely apologize for this breach and any harm it may have caused, and are actively investigating the cause to ensure it does not happen again," said Schmader.
"We are taking all necessary measures to prevent future incidents and better protect personal information."
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