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What's New - Reaching Out to the Community –Privacy Commissioner Interviewed by Media on the Impact of the Data Breach Incident of Canvas and Instagram’s Discontinuation of “End-to-end Encrypted Messaging” Feature
Date: 15 May 2026
Reaching Out to the Community –Privacy Commissioner Interviewed by Media on the Impact of the Data Breach Incident of Canvas and Instagram’s Discontinuation of “End-to-end Encrypted Messaging” Feature
The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (Privacy Commissioner), Ms Ada CHUNG Lai-ling, was interviewed by RTHK Radio 1’s “HK2000” on 15 May, where she explained the impact of the data breach incident involving the online learning management platform Canvas, as well as Instagram’s discontinuation of its “end-to-end encrypted messaging” feature.
During the interview, the Privacy Commissioner stated that regarding the Canvas data breach incident, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data has received data breach notifications from seven organisations, affecting more than 72,000 individuals. She advised that organisations that are possibly affected by the incident should review the security of their information systems (including that of the platform) before resuming their use of the platform. They should also consider deleting or minimising unnecessary data stored on the platform and monitoring system logs for any anomalous activities.
Despite the announcement by the operator of the relevant platform that the unauthorised actor has returned the compromised data to them, the Privacy Commissioner reminded affected users to remain vigilant, particularly against phishing and other possible scams, and to consider changing the user credentials of their accounts on the platform. As regards reports that the platform has paid ransom, the Privacy Commissioner also condemned the paying of ransom, noting that such action would encourage hackers to continue engaging in unlawful activities, and would also increase the risks of the platform being hacked again.
As for Instagram’s discontinuation of its “end-to-end encrypted messaging” feature, the Privacy Commissioner stated that the change may increase the risk of interception of messages by malicious actors when users are on insecure networks, such as public Wi-Fi, thereby increasing the risk of personal data breach and misuse. She advised users to consider downloading and backing up past chat records or deleting relevant messages to mitigate potential risks.
In addition, the Assistant Privacy Commissioner (Compliance, Global Affairs and Research), Mr Alex CHAN Chung-man, was interviewed by Commercial Radio’s “On a Clear Day” on 14 May. He reminded members of the public to avoid disclosing their own or others’ personal data in messages and calls. Such data include, in particular sensitive personal data such as identification numbers and bank information, in order to safeguard personal data privacy.
Click here to listen to the interview by RTHK Radio 1’s “HK2000” (Chinese only).
During the interview, the Privacy Commissioner stated that regarding the Canvas data breach incident, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data has received data breach notifications from seven organisations, affecting more than 72,000 individuals. She advised that organisations that are possibly affected by the incident should review the security of their information systems (including that of the platform) before resuming their use of the platform. They should also consider deleting or minimising unnecessary data stored on the platform and monitoring system logs for any anomalous activities.
Despite the announcement by the operator of the relevant platform that the unauthorised actor has returned the compromised data to them, the Privacy Commissioner reminded affected users to remain vigilant, particularly against phishing and other possible scams, and to consider changing the user credentials of their accounts on the platform. As regards reports that the platform has paid ransom, the Privacy Commissioner also condemned the paying of ransom, noting that such action would encourage hackers to continue engaging in unlawful activities, and would also increase the risks of the platform being hacked again.
As for Instagram’s discontinuation of its “end-to-end encrypted messaging” feature, the Privacy Commissioner stated that the change may increase the risk of interception of messages by malicious actors when users are on insecure networks, such as public Wi-Fi, thereby increasing the risk of personal data breach and misuse. She advised users to consider downloading and backing up past chat records or deleting relevant messages to mitigate potential risks.
In addition, the Assistant Privacy Commissioner (Compliance, Global Affairs and Research), Mr Alex CHAN Chung-man, was interviewed by Commercial Radio’s “On a Clear Day” on 14 May. He reminded members of the public to avoid disclosing their own or others’ personal data in messages and calls. Such data include, in particular sensitive personal data such as identification numbers and bank information, in order to safeguard personal data privacy.
Click here to listen to the interview by RTHK Radio 1’s “HK2000” (Chinese only).
The Privacy Commissioner, Ms Ada CHUNG Lai-ling, was interviewed by RTHK Radio 1’s “HK2000”.