Strathmore Secondary College leaks ‘very damaging’ students’ medical info
CONFIDENTIAL records listing student medical conditions, including naming one child as having “extremely low IQ”, have been leaked by a Melbourne secondary school in a major privacy breach seen by parents and students.
Education
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CONFIDENTIAL records listing students’ medical conditions, including naming a child as having an “extremely low IQ”, have been leaked by a Melbourne secondary school.
Sensitive information about hundreds of Strathmore Secondary College students, including medical diagnoses, learning difficulties and treatment plans has been accidentally detailed on the intranet service in a significant privacy breach.
The information was seen by numerous parents and students.
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Education minister James Merlino on Tuesday night slammed the privacy breach as “nothing short of appalling” and ordered an urgent investigation into the matter.
He said he had asked the department to immediately investigate the issue.
“I have also directed privacy staff from the department to immediately visit the school tomorrow to ensure all staff understand Department of Training privacy and IT policies.”
The records, obtained by the Herald Sun, list over 300 individual students’ impairments including extreme comprehension difficulties, severe memory issues, dyslexia, behavioural issues, low processing speeds and severe anxiety.
It also lists students’ mental and physical conditions including Asperger’s syndrome, Autism, ADHD and one student with an “acquired brain injury”.
The records also highlight if the student is receiving government support and lists medications including Ritalin.
Outraged parents and students say the data breach is “very damaging” to vulnerable students named on the list, and that they could be exposed to bullying by peers.
A year 11 student, who wished to remain anonymous, described the breach as “disgusting”. “This leak could cause the information to possibly be used maliciously against other students and bullying,” said the student.
“From my impression from other students, everybody seems scared … scared that they’re on the list, scared what judgment the school might have made on them, who might have access to this information and what other information could be potentially leaked in the future.
“This leak of information left nobody unaffected; everyone is either on the list, or knows somebody on the list.”
Early indications point to human error as the cause of the leak.
Strathmore Secondary College principal Jillian English on Tuesday night said she was “shocked and disappointed” by the breach, and vowed to make sure it never happens again.
“We are urgently working to find out how this has occurred and will be taking whatever steps necessary to ensure it cannot happen again,” she said.
“Our school takes privacy and data security very seriously and I recently arranged professional development for my staff to ensure they are able to follow best practice.”
The Herald Sun has been told the student records were uploaded to the school’s internal compass system as late as Monday and remained online until teachers were notified on Tuesday.
“Distinct changes need to be made in whatever system caused this in order to prevent this from happening again, and students need to be able to feel that their information is safe within the school,” said the student.
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