Court documents detail RCMP hacking investigation into MLA Thomas Dang
Court documents show Mounties were initially pursuing criminal charges against an Alberta legislature member who admitted to hacking a government health website.
Former NDP MLA Thomas Dang was charged in June under the province's Health Information Act for illegally attempting to access private information contained in the Alberta Health vaccine portal.
He is scheduled to appear in court July 27 and could face a fine up to $200,000 if convicted.
Documents filed with the court, unsealed Wednesday, say an officer with the cybercrime investigation team believed a criminal offence — unauthorized use of a computer — had been committed.
Other documents, including search warrants and production orders, suggest RCMP were considering that charge, which carries a maximum 10 years in prison, as late as the end of March.
A spokeswoman for Alberta Justice declined to comment Thursday on the Crown's decision to pursue a charge under the health act, because the case is before the court.
Dang, who represents Edmonton-South, resigned from the NDP caucus when he became aware of the RCMP investigation in December 2021.
Police investigated after Dang admitted to using his computer to follow up on a tip from a constituent about possible loopholes that were allowing access to people's private health information on the province's COVID-19 vaccine website.
He later said that when he ran into roadblocks trying to breach the vaccination site, he used Premier Jason Kenney's birth date and vaccination dates — both publicly available — which allowed him to crack the site's privacy safeguards.
A document from the officer, dated March 31, 2022, notes the province launched the vaccine portal to allow people to download their vaccine records in September 2021.
"Upon the website going live, it was flooded with abnormal traffic," it says. "Many of these requests came through the TOR network, which is a system designed to provide anonymity to a user, hiding their true IP address by using a relay system.
"During this time there were 1.75 million requests using the birth date of Premier Jason Kenney, and a further approximately 50,000 requests using the date of birth of Thomas Dang."
The document says at least some of the requests were automated and notes those types of attacks are often referred to as a "brute force attack."
It says several queries were attempted before an email was sent to the Alberta Health director of communications from the Alberta NDP's director of communications about a potential vulnerability in the vaccine portal.
"A search warrant was executed on the residence of Thomas Dang and a number of computers were seized," says the document.
"Dang admitted he tested the system and successfully downloaded someone's record. He stated it was his obligation as an MLA and a cybersecurity professional to check the site for potential flaws and report them to Alberta Health."
Dang, who could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday, has been sitting in the house as an Independent but has said he wants to return to the NDP caucus.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.