For club chairwoman Andrea Haselwanter-Schneider dies “extremely questionable in terms of data protection law”, she said at a press conference in Innsbruck. “We have to be extremely sensitive to health data,” warned the politician.

Certain barriers to more security

She herself had received her separation notice as an unprotected PDF document after her Covid infection, she reported. Oliver Jaindl from Cobin Claims – a platform for class actions – also criticized the country’s approach. He stated that calling up test results through barriers – for example by entering the date of birth – is better. He could not answer whether the separation notices are protected in other federal states.

Standard and ORF uncovered data leak

The state of Tyrol and its former contractor HG Lab Truck hit the headlines a month ago due to a data leak. The former managing director of the laboratory, Ralf Herwig, sent data on positive PCR test results – as he emphasizes encrypted – in the form of Excel sheets. However, he had already resigned as managing director in May after massive criticism and had handed this function over to his wife.

He said he had sent the mail on August 10 for the purpose of a “backup” and suspected a hacker attack. The list with around 24,000 test results was leaked to ORF Tirol and the “Standard” – more on this in Massive data leakage in the event of positive CoV tests.

Still many questions about data leak unanswered

Haselwanter-Schneider and Jaindl point out that people who die believe they have been affected by the data leak can submit a request for information to the country and the company. Cobin Claims provides a form for this, which has been downloaded about 500 times. Jaindl demanded that the information should be given in a lower-threshold and uncomplicated manner: “When & appropriate opportunities will be created in the country and at the HG Labtruck”. The country must also clarify what happened to the list. “Is she surging around?” He asks.

The country recently said that it was not possible to say who was part of the data leak, as the authority itself did not have the list. According to the legal opinion of Cobin Claims, the country has the right, as the client, to request the data at any time.

Haselwanter-Schneider brings a criminal complaint

It was too early for Jaindl to talk about the effort of a class action lawsuit. But he wouldn’t rule it out either. Those affected could sue for damages, he said.

The Innsbruck public prosecutor’s office is already initiating investigations against unknown persons. The suspicion of a violation of the data protection act as well as that of unlawful access to a computer system is being investigated, according to the prosecution. Haselwanter-Schneider announced on Tuesday that it would file a criminal complaint against HG Labtruck in this matter this week.

HG Pharma repeatedly criticized

The case of HG Pharma or HG Lab Truck has been a topic of concern for the media and politics since spring. The black-green state government came under fire at the beginning of May because of the cause. Above all, the direct award of the around eight million euro contract without a tender to the Herwigs company last September caused sharp criticism. The country always saw unlawful action in denial. The HG Lab Truck had apparently partly incorrect mutation evaluations in the Tyrolean PCR samples. Around 380 cases are reclassified according to a preliminary interim result of the previous sequencing of the AGES.

In addition, the Economic and Corruption Public Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) had become active and had submitted a project report to the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office in July. The accusation was in the room that the HG Lab Truck had or did not carry out the PCR tests commissioned by the state “properly and professionally. not qualified to carry out such tests and may be “.