Data Breach

Data Breach


Settlement in 23andMe data breach class-action proposed at about $4.49M

Canadians affected by a 23andMe data security breach two years ago have reached a proposed class-action settlement with the genetic testing company for approximately $4.49 million. Canada’s privacy watchdog said in June the personal data of almost seven million people, including nearly 320,000 in Canada, was compromised by hackers over a five-month period beginning in […]

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Premier blasts N.S. Power’s cyberattack response, weighs fine for utility

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says he is disappointed with how the privately owned provincial utility responded to a cyberattack earlier this year. The cyberattack struck Nova Scotia Power last April, disrupting some systems at the utility and prompting complaints from a number of customers about who had gained access to their personal information.  Houston […]

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LRSD reviews policies as archived data accessed in PowerSchool breach

Livingstone Range School Division says student and staff information stored on an old PowerSchool server was accessed in last winter’s cybersecurity breach. The revelation comes as Alberta’s privacy commissioner concludes school authorities across the province failed to meet required security standards. Jeff Perry, associate superintendent of business services at LRSD, confirmed that archived records covering […]

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Nova Scotia Power executive believes Russia-based actor was behind cyberattack

The president and chief executive officer of Nova Scotia Power says a Russia-based actor is likely behind a cybersecurity breach that targeted the utility’s customers in April. “This incident was an unprecedented, sophisticated and targeted attack,” Peter Gregg told a committee of the Nova Scotia legislature in prepared remarks on Tuesday. “Based on expert assessments […]

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School boards caught unprepared in mass student data breach: provincial watchdogs

Privacy watchdogs in Ontario and Alberta issued their findings Tuesday after investigating a mass data breach of a student information system used across Canada, concluding that school boards lacked adequate breach response plans, among other issues. Ontario’s privacy commissioner says PowerSchool, a software and storage company for school systems in the U.S. and Canada, was […]

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U.S. man sentenced to prison over data breach that included Canadian students’ info

An American man was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison after pleading guilty to cyber extortion in the mass data breach of a student information system used across Canada.  Court documents show Matthew D. Lane was sentenced in a Massachusetts court after he pleaded guilty to charges relating to the cyber extortion of two […]

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British department store Harrods warns customers that some personal details taken in data breach

LONDON (AP) — Harrods, the luxury British department store, has warned some customers that their personal data may have been taken in a breach of its online systems. The company said late Friday that some names and contact details of its online customers were taken after one of its third-party provider systems was compromised. “We […]

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Cyberattack shuts down Nevada state offices and websites, governor’s office says

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A cyberattack caused Nevada’s state offices to close for two days this week and rendered some state websites and phone lines unavailable, the governor’s office said Tuesday. Agencies will announce when their counters will reopen for in-person services, according to the technology office of Gov. Joe Lombardo, whose website was among […]

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A data breach exposes thousands of Afghans who have settled in the UK and British troops

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of Afghans, British troops and civil servants may have fallen victim to another data breach, according to a firm linked to the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence. The Jet Centre, which provides ground handling for flights, said late Friday that it suffered a data security incident which led to “unauthorised access to […]

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Privacy commissioner to investigate WestJet cybersecurity breach

The office of Canada’s privacy commissioner says it has opened an investigation into a cyberattack on WestJet which saw a “malicious actor” gain access to the airline’s systems. The airline said in a statement last month that a “sophisticated, criminal” third party was able to gain access to some personal and travel-related data during the […]

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Allianz Life confirms data breach affecting majority of 1.4M US customers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Hackers gained access to personal data on the majority of the 1.4 million customers of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, the company confirmed Saturday. Minneapolis-based Allianz Life, a subsidiary of Munich, Germany-based Allianz SE, said the data breach happened on July 16 when a “malicious threat actor” gained access to […]

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Federal privacy watchdog discontinues investigation into student data breach

The federal privacy watchdog says it has discontinued the investigation into a cybersecurity breach involving a student information system used across Canada, citing its satisfaction with the company’s response and commitment to added security measures. Privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne says the probe was launched in February after his office received a breach report from U.S.-based […]

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