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2024
The Home Affairs Department announced today that the Sai Kung District Office (SKDO) received a report concerning the theft of electronic devices from a sub-district care team yesterday. It stated that the operating organisation of the Sai Kung Hang Hau East Sub-district Care Team, ie the Hang Hau District Festival & Special Event Preparatory Committee, reported to the SKDO that a laptop and a mobile phone had been stolen. The items were locked in a room located at the address of the Hang Hau Rural Committee where the door lock had been broken. The stolen items contain personal data of the service recipients of that sub-district care team. It is estimated that the data involves the names and phone numbers of a few hundred people, some with addresses and identity card numbers. The operating organisation confirmed that they have been complying with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, and have properly handled and kept confidential the relevant personal data in accordance with the care team's principle of use of data and confidentiality. Both electronic devices and files containing personal data are protected by high-strength passwords. Under such security measures, the risk of data leakage should be relatively low. Police have classified the incident as a burglary case, and the operating organisation has reported the incident to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data. The Hang Hau Rural Committee and the operating organisation are reviewing, and will further strengthen, their security measures. They are also reminding residents and service recipients to be vigilant. The SKDO sincerely apologises to those affected for any inconvenience caused, and has set up a hotline, 6278 0536, for enquiries. Apart from reminding all care teams to stay vigilant and further strengthen security measures, the SKDO stressed that they should continue to handle and keep personal data confidential according to the guidelines.