[WATCH] No comment on Lands Authority data breach pending investigation

Ian Borg will not comment on the data breach from the Lands Authority website pending investigations by the authority’s internal auditor and the Data Protection Commissioner.

The Lands Minister said the authority had submitted a preliminary report on the incident with the Data Protection Commissioner.

This report was filed within 72 hours of the breach being detected as determined by the law and the authority was now waiting for direction from the Data Commissioner before putting the website back online.

“It is not ethical to prejudice the investigation by the Lands Authority’s internal auditor and the Data Protection Commissioner,” Borg said this morning.

The Lands Authority website had a major flaw that allowed the data of applicants and clients to be indexed, and subsequently made available through internet searches.

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The flaw was brought to light last week. The website was pulled down the moment the flaw was flagged.

Borg said the authority had introduced online filing of applications when it was created, similar to what happens with Planning Authority applications.

People who use the Lands Authority service have to file applications online and the system asked users to tick a disclaimer informing them that the uploaded documentation would be made publicly searchable.