Privacy Commissioner notified after breaches in parishes

Christchurch Diocese urged people to be vigilant at a time of heightened scamming, saying in a Facebook post “We are being targeted”.

“If you receive an email or text from a priest, check the validity of the email address and mobile number. If you do not recognise the sender’s details, do not respond to the message no matter how often you continue to receive it.”

The Catholic Cathedral parish apologised for a privacy breach and self-notified the commissioner’s office.

On June 16, human error led to an accidental release of all parishioners’ names and contact details to an unauthorised (scam) email address, the parish stated.

“As soon as we became aware of the situation, we took immediate steps to investigate and to prevent any further issues,” said parish administrator Fr Simon Eccleton. The parish notified the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and is working with the Diocesan Privacy Officer to ensure all reporting requirements are met.

The parish took “immediate steps to contain the issue, including attempting to recall the message and requesting recipients delete it”.

“We are reviewing our internal processes to prevent this from happening again.” The parish stressed that protecting “personal information is a priority for the parish”.

“We sincerely apologise that this occurred and for any distress or anxiety this breach may cause you.”

The parish stated it believed the risk to parishioners is low to moderate, while recommending people remain cautious about suspicious emails.

FULL STORY

Privacy breaches have happened… – Catholic Diocese of Christchurch | Facebook

Important… – Catholic Cathedral Parish, Ōtautahi-Christchurch | Facebook