Suspected theft of OGCIO mobile phones

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     The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) today (February 19) announced the suspected theft of two mobile phones used for monitoring persons under compulsory home quarantine. The OGCIO has reported the incident to the Police and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data. All those affected were also informed and reminded to remove contacts with the two mobile phones. They were also advised to inform the OGCIO and follow up with the Police if any suspicious calls were received.

     Staff of the OGCIO discovered the suspected theft of two mobile phones when they conducted inventory checking of all 170 phones last night. The two mobile phones were used at the temporary communication centre set up by the OGCIO at the Customs and Excise Department headquarters in North Point for monitoring whether persons under quarantine had been staying in their dwelling places. Persons under quarantine are requested to share their real-time locations and conduct video calls through mobile communication applications. A total of 122 persons had been contacted via the two mobile phones for monitoring purposes. Names, telephone numbers, shared locations and photos of these persons but no detailed addresses are stored in the phones. The mobile phones are password-protected with information encrypted. The OGCIO has already terminated the communication services of the two phones.

     The OGCIO expressed regret about the incident and offered its sincerest apologies to those affected. The OGCIO has immediately stepped up information security to avoid the recurrence of similar incidents.

Ends/Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Issued at HKT 19:19

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