Alberta separatist group ordered to pull down list with millions of voters' personal information
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Alberta has experienced a devastating data breach, resulting in the publication of personal information belonging to millions of Albertans. From the CBC, updated with latest developments, and deserves a thorough read. I include some highlights below: Alberta's leaked data involves full names, addresses, phone numbers, and electoral divisions of nearly 3 million Alberta voters, rendered into a searchable database.
As noted, Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally abused this very same list when responding to a recall petition, and was found by Elections Alberta to have violated the Election Act. Now, Elections Alberta learned that the data was provided to the Republican Party of Alberta in June 2025, and was somehow turned over to a "Centurian Project" operated by David Parker, a political operator.
This Centurian Project, apparently registered as a third-party advertiser with Elections Alberta on Apr 24, is an Alberta separatist group. Their website contained instructions on how to access the leaked data for the purpose of targeting and seeking supporters. CBC received a statement from Centurion Project, which suggest that the data has been further processed by third party.
"The Centurion Project Ltd is a company that was established to help train volunteers on how to be better citizens and to impact the political process. To be clear, the Centurion App is strictly used by volunteers to find people they personally know in a database. They are not given access to any phone numbers or emails and are encouraged only to contact and claim people they already know. We have relied on a third party to provide us with datasets for this tool. We are aware of recent allegations regarding the app’s data. We have taken action to shut down the app until we can ensure that the dataset is compliant with Alberta and federal privacy laws. We plan to fully comply with Elections Alberta’s investigation."
Canadians are aware that leaks of this nature are severe because they can be cross-referenced with other data for further state or private surveillance and/or criminal activity. Recently, Telus reported the loss of a petabyte of data, including personally identifiable information and call-centre recordings.
Telus Digital confirms hack as ShinyHunters claims credit for massive data theft
The Canadian business-process outsourcer, which counts many major businesses among its customers, still isn’t sure what the hackers stole.
Cybersecurity Dive (www.cybersecuritydive.com)
With the Americans extending FISA 702, and how separatists are associated with this data leak, there's a real danger that this exposure can and will result in lasting consequences.
US Congress passes short-term renewal of Fisa warrantless spying powers
Lawmakers agree 45-day extension but Republican and Democratic critics urge reform of surveillance program
the Guardian (www.theguardian.com)
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R relay@relay.mycrowd.ca shared this topic
