The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) in Hong Kong faced a significant data leak incident involving personal information of 199 tenants and property owners. These individuals had signed up for briefing sessions related to a redevelopment scheme under the Nga Tsin Wai Road/Carpenter Road project. The leak occurred due to a failure in the URA’s cloud-based e-form platform, which allowed public access to sensitive personal data without requiring an account or password. The breach was discovered when police received reports about the exposed information, which included personal details like names, telephone numbers, ownership information, and addresses.
Upon realizing the issue, the URA took immediate action by ceasing the use of the affected platform and removing all personal data stored there. Despite this, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data found that the URA had not taken sufficient steps to ensure the security of the data prior to the leak. Key failures identified included the failure to update software and conduct effective security tests, which led to the vulnerability being undetected until the data was accessed. The breach occurred because the URA could not timely identify that the data was accessible to the public, resulting in an unauthorized leak.
The Privacy Commissioner emphasized that organizations using cloud services, like the URA, have a shared responsibility with their service providers to ensure data security. In response to the incident, the URA committed to strengthening its data protection practices. This includes requesting enhanced security measures from its cloud platform provider, providing more comprehensive training on data security, and aiming to develop its own platforms in the future to reduce reliance on third-party services. These steps are aimed at preventing similar incidents from occurring in the future.
The incident highlighted the growing risks associated with cloud computing and prompted the privacy watchdog to issue new guidelines for better data protection in such environments. Recommendations include keeping cloud platforms up to date, ensuring encryption of stored data, and stipulating contract provisions for data return or deletion. The URA’s breach also sparked broader concerns about data privacy in Hong Kong, with calls for stronger privacy protection measures following several cyberattacks in the region in 2024.
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