Equifax Hack Sees 100,000 Canadians Affected by Data Breach

A week ago, Equifax disclosed it suffered a data breach, with personal data leaking for 143 million Americans, from mid-May to July 2017. The company also noted the hack had affected some Canadian and UK customers, and today we are finding out the exact numbers.

Equifax this morning said 100,000 Canadians were affected, reports Reuters. Here’s how Canadian data was accessed:

The company said criminals got access to files containing personal information of some Canadian consumers – including names, addresses, social insurance numbers and in some cases credit card information – via a consumer website application intended for use by U.S. consumers.

President and general manager of Equifax Canada, Lisa Nelson, issued an apology for those affected and said the company would write to customers to explain what steps they should take next.

“We understand it has also been frustrating that Equifax Canada has been unable to provide clarity on who was impacted until the investigation is complete. Our focus now is on providing impacted consumers with the support they need,” said Nelson.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) said on Friday it opened an investigation into the hack, after several complaints from Canadians. Equifax says it is working with OPC to mail notices to those affected.

As for British customers affected, almost 400,000 may have been accessed in the breach.

CIBC recently partnered with Equifax to offer free credit scores via the bank’s iOS app; it’s unknown whether these customers are affected or not.

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