Hong Kong prison department’s IT system hacked, 6,800 employees’ data compromised
Authorities reveal breach occurred on Tuesday, allowing hacker access to names, email addresses, employment history and other personal information
A computer system containing Hong Kong prison employees’ personal data has been hacked, compromising the information of 6,800 current and former staffers.
The Correctional Services Department said on Friday evening that a hacker had gained illegal access to one of its IT systems on Tuesday.
“After a preliminary investigation, the Correctional Services Department believes the incident involved unauthorised access to the internal Knowledge Management System by a hacker, through which the hacker then gained entry to another IT system maintaining personal data of [the department] staff,” it said.
The data involved 6,800 current and former employees, including their name, gender, date of birth, academic qualifications, employment history in the department and email addresses, it added.