Equifax data hack may affect 100,000 Canadians

Equifax Canada says approximately 100,000 Canadian consumers may have had their personal information and credit card details compromised in the massive cyberattack on the credit data company made public earlier this month.

The company said Tuesday the investigation is ongoing and it appears that the breached data may have included names, addresses, social insurance numbers and, in limited cases, credit card numbers.

“We apologize to Canadian consumers who have been impacted by this incident,” Lisa Nelson, president and general manager of Equifax Canada, said in a statement. “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.”

Equifax Canada has provided information to MasterCard and Visa about Canadians whose credit card details may have been compromised, for communication to the financial institutions involved, the company said on its Canadian website. The financial institutions will provide the information to its clients, it added.

It said Tuesday that hackers accessed Equifax Inc.’s systems through a consumer website application intended for use by U.S. consumers. “Equifax Canada can confirm that Canadian systems are not affected,” the company said on its Canadian website. “We have found no evidence of unauthorized activity on Equifax’s core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases ...”

On Sept. 7, Equifax announced that on July 29 it discovered a data breach that may have compromised the personal information of 143 million Americans and an undisclosed number of Canadian and U.K. residents.

Equifax said Tuesday that it will be sending mailed notices directly to Canadians who have been impacted in the cyberhack outlining the steps they should take. It is also offering free credit monitoring and identity theft protection for the next 12 months.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner said that it is unclear whether the affected data was limited to Canadians with U.S. dealings.