According to consumer information company Equifax Canada, the personal information of approximately 100,000 Canadians was recently compromised due to a cybersecurity breach.
Information stolen includes names, social insurance numbers, addresses and even credit card data. The 100,000 Canadians affected is in addition to 143 million American consumers who recently learned their personal information was also compromised.
An investigation has been opened in Canada and impacted customers will be contacted by phone to discuss next steps.
While in this case, vulnerable servers are being blamed for the breach, this acts as a warning to everyone. We should all be more vigilant about the safety of our personal information.
But how?
That might mean saving receipts and carefully reviewing your bank account and credit card statements each month. It might mean changing your banking passwords more often, shopping on trusted sites only or not clicking on those Facebook popup ads that look so enticing. If your information has been stolen before you might even opt for a mailbox that locks, so that thieves can no longer access letters in your mailbox.
How do you keep your information safe? Do you have any tips to offer readers? If your data has been compromised before, how did you respond? I’d love to hear.
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