Protection of Sensitive Data

We've received some information from the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre related to the Equifax breach in September.  There's some good information here - please take a look.

On Sept. 7, 2017 media reports indicated that a large American credit score bureau had been breached, exposing the personal information of millions of consumers in the U.S. and in the U.K. and potentially affecting 8,000 individuals in Canada. On November 28, 2017 the Canadian arm of this U.S. company posted information on its website indicating that an additional 11,670 Canadians had been affected by the breach, bringing the total number of Canadians affected to about 19,000.

In response to CCIRC partner questions concerning this event, this product provides information on what organizations can do to reduce the risk of sensitive data, such as personal information, being exfiltrated from their organization. Information in this note includes:

• The Canadian statutory definitions of personal  information
• Upcoming regulatory changes to data breach reporting in Canada
• Examples of reported breaches of Canadian personal information
• Tactics, techniques, and procedures employed to target Canadian personal information
• Tips for safeguarding sensitive information
• Advice from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)  for individuals who believe their personal information may have been compromised.