‘Truly terrifying’: Alberta voter data breach raises fears for Canada’s electoral integrity

The illegal use of voter information by rightwing separatists in the province of Alberta has raised fresh fears over Canada’s electoral integrity by making valuable and “incredibly confidential” personal data easily accessible to malicious actors, security experts have warned. The data breach, one of the largest in Canadian history, has prompted warnings of a “truly terrifying” new battleground over information, persuasion and foreign interference in already weakened democratic systems. Activists in the oil-rich province have in recent months increased their effort to force an independence referendum. But debates over secession – already rife with accusations of treason and internecine feuding – have been overshadowed by revelations that a separatist-linked organization gained illegal access to Alberta’s official list of electors. The database contains the names, home addresses and contact information for roughly 2.9 million voters. Elections Alberta, the body that administers the vote in the province, says it has launched an investigation into how how a far-right group was able to access the database and use it for a campaign to reach voters. Separatist leaders recently unveiled an initiative using data-driven campaigning and grassroots mobilization to connect with voters. During an online meeting with supporters, Centurion Project organizer Emmott Kelsey told attendees the app would “revolutionize” how campaigns are run. …