The actions of an apparently disgruntled employee led to the release of personal information of 2.9 million members of Desjardins, a Quebec-based credit union with members in Ontario, including here in Greater Sudbury.
On its website, the institution said a Laval police investigation traced the leak to “an ill-intentioned employee who acted illegally and betrayed the trust of their employer. That person was fired.”
In addition to Sudbury, Hanmer and Azilda, Desjardins has affiliates in Ontario in Toronto, Cochrane, Earlton, New Liskeard, Tecumseh and Welland.
In an email, Desjardins, whose assets top $300 billion, said it “cannot disclose the number of members affected in Sudbury.
“We confirm that personal information of 2.9 million members had been affected by the data breach mostly in Quebec,” the email from spokesperson Chantal Corbeil said. “No insurance customers were affected by the data breach (only members with branch account).”
However, the company says any customers whose information has been compromised as a result of the data breach will receive a personal letter informing them.
“Beware impersonators,” the company said on its website. “We won't contact you by phone, email or text message.”
The leaked information includes names, addresses, birth dates, social insurance numbers, email addresses and information about transaction habits. Passwords for both personal and business accounts, security questions and PINs were not compromised in the data leak, the company said.
“Desjardins has not been the target of a cyberattack,” the statement said. “Our computer systems have not been compromised in any way by this incident. We have not seen a spike in fraud cases involving our members' accounts in recent months.”
Desjardins is also offering all affected customers a free, five-year credit monitoring plan, which includes daily access to credit reports, alerts of key changes and identity theft insurance. They will receive the information on how to access the service in the personal letter they receive.
The breach was uncovered when a suspicious transaction was referred to police in December 2018, which informed Desjardins last month that a breach had occurred.
Any members with questions or concerns can call 1-800-CAISSES (1-800-224-7737) between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., seven days a week.
