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Equifax hack compromised 100,000 Canadians’ personal data

Personal information could include names, addresses and social insurance numbers
8567608_web1_20170919-KCN-T-Equifax
Equifax booth (@Equifax/Twitter)

Equifax has announced that 100,000 Canadian consumers may have had their personal information breached in a cyberattack incident that took place between May and June of this year.

Personal information that may have been compromised includes names, addresses and social insurance numbers, and in limited cases credit card numbers, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

Canada’s privacy commissioner said Friday that it started a probe into the cyberattack and Equifax has committed to contacting Canadians whose data may be at risk in writing as soon as possible.

Equifax discovered the unauthorized access on July 29 of this year and acted immediately to stop the intrusion, it said.

On Sept. 7, the company announced that it fell victim to a massive cyberattack in the summer that may have compromised the personal data of 143 million Americans and an undisclosed number of Canadian and U.K. residents.

Equifax has since said that approximately 400,000 U.K. individuals may have been affected.

The company is now working with police officials and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

For impacted Canadians, Equifax will also be providing complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection for 12 months.

With files from The Canadian Press


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
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