Carlos Tse 
The Institute of Public Accountants has sent an email to all its members announcing that the names and member numbers have been leaked to other members following a human error that occurred during an automated process in its database.
With human error remaining one of the biggest causes of data breaches globally, increased reliance on external software platforms improves efficiency but increases privacy risk and potential failure points, Eddie Griffith, chair at Affiliation for Business Resilience and Turnaround told Accountants Daily.
In a statement, IPA chief executive Andrew Conway told Accountants Daily: “The information involved was limited to names and member numbers only, and no other personal or sensitive information was disclosed.”
The institute added that once the breach was identified, it immediately engaged with its technology partner, disabled the affected process, investigated the root cause, undertook a review to strengthen controls and reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future.
“We moved quickly to contain the issue as soon as it was identified, including deactivating the affected process and reviewing the cause with the technology supplier,” Conway added.
“The information involved was limited to names and member numbers only, and no other personal or sensitive information was disclosed,” he said.
“IPA is taking this matter seriously and has strengthened controls with its supplier to help prevent a similar incident from happening again.”
“We understand the importance of protecting your information and sincerely regret this occurred,” the email read.
“... safeguarding member data remains a priority for us …. We apologise for any concern this may cause,” it also read.
“Importantly, IPA appears to have handled this appropriately through prompt disclosure and immediate remediation once the issue was identified,” Griffith included.
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