BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
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Nova Scotia Power confirms server breach was ‘sophisticated’ ransomware attack
Nova Scotia Power confirmed on Friday what cybersecurity experts have suspected for weeks — that it was the victim of a ransomware attack. In an update posted to its website, the private utility said that no payment was made to the person or group behind the “sophisticated” attack. It refused to pay the ransom, it…
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Class-action lawsuit filed in B.C. over 2009 Interior Health data breach
British Columbia’s Interior Health Authority has been hit with a class-action lawsuit over a data breach in 2009 that allegedly compromised thousands of employees’ personal information that ended up being sold on the dark web. The lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday says the data breach occurred in December 2009, exposing “highly sensitive”…
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FTC dismisses lawsuit against PepsiCo that was filed by Biden-era FTC
The Republican-controlled Federal Trade Commission voted Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit against PepsiCo that the previous commission filed in the waning days of the Biden administration. The lawsuit, filed in January, alleged that PepsiCo was giving unfair price advantages to Walmart at the expense of other vendors and consumers. The lawsuit had relied on the…
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Hunter Biden seeks federal probe of Trump allies over laptop
WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer for President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, asked the Justice Department in a letter Wednesday to investigate close allies of former President Donald Trump and others who accessed and disseminated personal data from a laptop that a computer repair shop owner says was dropped off at his Delaware store in 2019.…
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Brampton election sign chaos continues: FOI docs reveal council members trying to ban them outside used 1,083 illegally placed signs
The same Brampton Council members who passed a motion that bans outdoor election signs are responsible for 1,083 election sign violations during the recent municipal campaign — about a third had Mayor Patrick Brown’s name on them. When the motion was brought forward on November 23 by Rowena Santos, who had pushed to ban election…
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Assault Style Firearm Buyback Program Still Hazy At The Edges
The assault style firearms ban that came into effect in Canada on May 1, 2020, has been highly controversial since its inception and implementation. Proponents of the ban say that it is a necessary step in protecting Canadians from gun violence, whereas those opposed to the ban insist that it has been an overly heavy-handed…
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First Nations say Alberta’s oilsands mine security reform unlikely to fix problems
EDMONTON — Alberta is preparing to change how it ensures oilsands companies are able to pay for the mammoth job of cleaning up their operations, but critics fear a year of consultations hasn’t been enough to avoid repeating past mistakes. “There’s no signal to me from this government that they are going to hold industry…
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Home Depot gave personal data to Meta without valid customer consent: watchdog
OTTAWA — Retailer Home Depot shared details from electronic receipts with Meta, which owns the social media platform Facebook, without the knowledge or consent of customers, the federal privacy watchdog has found. In a report released Thursday, privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne said the data included encoded email addresses and in-store purchase information. The commissioner’s investigation…
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Impersonators posing as homeowners linked to 32 fraud cases in Ontario and B.C.
Mortgage and title fraudsters who impersonate homeowners and tenants have targeted at least 32 properties in Ontario and British Columbia, investigators and official warnings suggest. Insurance investigator Brian King, president and CEO of King International Advisory Group, said his firm had received 30 such claims in Ontario. They include six instances of “total title fraud”…
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Feds say ‘no willing partners’ to bring fire codes onto First Nations — including AFN
OTTAWA — The federal government does not have a willing partner to find a way to introduce fire codes on First Nation reserves, a newly released document shows. The senior director for the Indigenous Fire Marshal Service, however, says there are steps Ottawa can take now to better protect communities. “Doing nothing is not an…