Printing error exposed more than 100 students’ identity codes

A printing error at Etu-Töölö Upper Secondary School in Helsinki exposed the personal identity codes of more than 100 matriculation examination candidates on a school noticeboard, Yle reports.

The same list also showed information about extended examination times for some candidates. Such extensions can be linked to sensitive matters, including health problems. One student’s right to use a larger font was also visible on a photograph of the list seen by Yle.

The list was intended to show seating arrangements for the first subject examination held on Wednesday. Virpi Suomalainen, the school’s acting deputy principal, said the identity codes and information about special examination arrangements were displayed by mistake.

“This was my mistake. I am sorry. I consider what happened a serious matter,” Suomalainen said.

Suomalainen said staff noticed on Wednesday morning, before the examination began, that some candidates’ names were missing from the list brought to the noticeboard. She then printed the list again and took it to a partition. In the rush, the new printout accidentally included identity codes and information about extended examination times.

The printout did not show the specific reasons for the extensions. According to Suomalainen, the incorrect list was visible on the school’s first floor for about an hour.

People enter the school’s premises using a door code, meaning the sensitive information was not available to every passer-by. Suomalainen has reported the incident to her supervisors.

Identity codes are generally confidential, said Matti Tolvanen, professor emeritus of criminal law. Information about special arrangements in a matriculation examination can also be sensitive. Tolvanen was commenting in general and did not take a direct position on whether the school had broken the law.

He said that confidential or sensitive information reaching unauthorised people through negligence could lead to suspicion of negligent breach of official secrecy. He referred to a 2020 case in which Finland’s Supreme Court upheld a district judge’s fine for negligent breach of official secrecy after confidential names remained in a public version of a judgment.

Tolvanen noted that the earlier case was on a completely different scale and involved highly sensitive private-life information that attracted widespread media attention.

Helsinki Police had not received any criminal reports concerning the school incident by noon on Thursday.