If you’re going to have a breach, you probably don’t want the authorities finding out about it from the media instead of from you. CBC News reports:

The head of Ontario’s privacy watchdog says she “hit the roof” after hearing from CBC News that a computer memory stick containing the medical files of hundreds of Toronto patients was stolen.

Last week, the University Health Network (UHN) sent letters to 763 patients who had undergone surgery at one of three of its sites between January and March of this year — Toronto General, Toronto Western and Princess Margaret hospitals — informing them that their medical information had been compromised, the CBC’s Metro Morning has learned.

Some of their files were copied onto an unencrypted USB key, which was stolen from the purse of a staff member on June 18, the letter said.

While the patients’ OHIP numbers, addresses and other contact information weren’t in the files, the patients’ names, their admission and discharge dates and any surgical procedures they underwent were. Police have been informed, but the memory stick has not been recovered.

Read more on CBC News.