Canadian lender Desjardins says personal data of 2.9 million members breached

ronjor · Jun 20, 2019

June 20, 2019

(Reuters) - Canadian lender Desjardins Group said on Thursday an unauthorized use of internal data by an employee led to breach of personal information including social insurance number, address and details of banking habits of more than 2.9 million members.
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guest · Jun 21, 2019

Desjardins hit with two class action suits after security breach
June 21, 2019
https://montrealgazette.com/news/lo...longs-credit-monitoring-after-security-breach

One day after announcing personal information on 2.9 million of its members had been illegally transferred to a third party, Mouvement Desjardins is being targeted by two class action suits.

Filed Friday in Superior Court, one of the suits, filed by the law firm of Siskinds Desmeules on behalf of a Quebec City resident, is seeking compensation that could amount to as much as $2.9 billion as well as punitive damages of $290 million.
The second action, filed by the legal firms LPC Avocat and Kugler Kandestin, does not specify exactly how much the suit is seeking in compensation for those affected, although the plaintiff named in the suit is seeking $300 in punitive damages.

In both cases the actions contend that Desjardins did not sufficiently protect the information of its clientele.
Both suits require the approval of the court before they can proceed.
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guest · Jul 9, 2019

Quebec and Ottawa collaborate to look into Desjardins data theft
July 8, 2019
https://montrealgazette.com/busines...sis-handled-well-quebec-finance-minister-says

According to Quebec’s access-to-information commissioner and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, the joint investigations will determine if the organization respected the rules for the protection of personal information.

“Although Desjardins does most of its business in Quebec and is subject to provincial law, it’s also subject to federal law for activities in other provinces,” Reads a statement released Monday, explaining the collaboration.
This isn’t the first time Quebec and Ottawa have collaborated on a case that involved the protection of personal information. They also collaborated in 2016 for the data leak of the dating website Ashley Madison.

This affair could have legal consequences for Desjardins. Two requests for authorization for class action allege that Desjardins violated its members’ right to privacy, or is negligent in protecting their personal and financial information.
The police investigation in the goal of shedding light on data theft is still ongoing.
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guest · Jul 16, 2019

Desjardins expands protection plan for members after data breach
All Desjardins caisse members are now automatically protected against identity theft at no cost, the company said
July 15, 2019
https://montrealgazette.com/news/lo...protection-plan-for-members-after-data-breach

All current and future Desjardins caisse members are now automatically and permanently protected against identity theft at no cost, chief executive officer Guy Cormier said Monday. Desjardins will also reimburse up to $50,000 of expenses related to identity theft such as salary loss, document notarization or legal and accounting fees.

“Our members can sleep soundly,” Cormier said on a conference call with reporters. “Desjardins is being proactive. Desjardins is putting measures in place. We are clearly saying that if there are unauthorized financial transactions in people’s accounts, we will indemnify them.”
Only about 360,000 Desjardins members have signed up so far for the Equifax protection, a fraction of the co-operative’s total membership of 4.3 million.

Desjardins introduced the enhanced measures because it was concerned only 20 to 25 per cent of its members would sign up for the Equifax program [...] “We didn’t want to leave 80 per cent of our members unprotected,”
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guest · Aug 13, 2019

Desjardins spends C$70 million ($53 million) related to data breach
August 12, 2019
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/desjardins-spends-c-70-mln-184636205.html

Canadian lender Desjardins Group said on Monday it spent C$70 million ($53 million) in the second quarter related to a data privacy breach earlier this year that exposed personal information of 2.9 million members.
The company offered the affected accounts a credit monitoring plan and identity theft insurance for five years, without any additional costs to those customers, Desjardins said.
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guest · Nov 1, 2019

Desjardins data breach much larger than first estimated, affecting 4.2 million
Desjardins chief executive officer Guy Cormier made the statement Friday
November 1, 2019
https://montrealgazette.com/busines...er-than-first-estimated-affecting-4-2-million

All of Mouvement Desjardins’ individual members, 4.2 million people, have had their personal information compromised as a result of the actions of a single employee, who has since been fired, chief executive officer Guy Cormier said Friday. That’s about 56 per cent more than the total that Desjardins first disclosed June 20.

With Sûreté du Québec having informed Desjardins of its findings on Thursday, “it was important for me to inform our members as quickly as possible,” Cormier said Friday morning at a hastily called press conference in Montreal.

“Today it feels like I’m repeating a movie,” he said. “This is not a new breach.”
Cormier declined to give details on the police investigation, citing the sensitivity of the matter. As of now, only one suspect who worked at Desjardins is being linked to the breach, he said without identifying the individual.
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Press Release: Privacy breach - An update on the police investigation

guest · Nov 22, 2019

Data theft: Desjardins spends $70M a year on cybersecurity, commission told
November 21, 2019
https://montrealgazette.com/news/lo...s-70m-a-year-on-cybersecurity-commission-told

Company president Guy Cormier spent 45 minutes answering questions from MNAs from all parties in the National Assembly and stuck to the position that once it had found out about the breach, Desjardins did everything it could to protect its clients.

Cormier told the commission that Desjardins spends $70 million annually on cybersecurity to protect clients’ personal information.

“Internal fraud is a problem in every organization,” he said, adding the time had come to “broaden our view” to attack the “world scourge” of personal data theft.
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guest · Dec 10, 2019

Desjardins says data breach also affects 1.8-million credit cardholders
December 10, 2019
https://montrealgazette.com/busines...h-also-affects-1-8-million-credit-cardholders

About 1.8-million credit cardholders who are not Desjardins members may have had their personal information compromised, chief executive officer Guy Cormier said Tuesday. The rogue employee at the centre of the leak — who has since been fired — had access to banking details such as loans and savings, the CEO said on a conference call with reporters.

Still, Cormier said, “this information was not stolen. It was not found in the hands of third parties. We have no indication from our internal analysis that this information could have been shared with third parties.”
As a result of the latest developments, Desjardins said Tuesday it has decided to extend its identity protection program to all its members and clients. No significant uptick in fraud has been recorded in recent weeks, Desjardins added.
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Press Release: Desjardins continues to implement best practices and expand the scope of its privacy protection measures

guest · Feb 27, 2020

$38m Higher Than Expected
Desjardins data breach cost $108 million, banking co-op says
February 26, 2020
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/desjardins-breach-cost-1.5476855

The Desjardins Group says last year's theft of the personal data of its 4.2 million members ultimately cost the co-operative $108 million.

The Quebec-based financial institution initially estimated the cost of a malicious employee's breach — which also affected 1.8 million credit card holders — at $70 million.
It may seem like a large amount, but he says Desjardins has "ample capacity" to absorb the expense.

Cormier says there should be no further increase in costs related to the data theft, which has plunged the co-operative into turmoil since it was revealed last June.
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guest · Dec 14, 2020

Gaps in safeguards led to massive Desjardins security breach: privacy commissioners
December 14, 2020
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/desjardins-breach-privacy-report-1.5840171

The mass data breach at Desjardins — the largest ever in the Canadian financial services sector — was caused by a series of gaps in the Quebec company's security setup, according to a new investigation by the federal and Quebec privacy commissioners.

"Desjardins did not demonstrate the appropriate level of attention required to protect the sensitive personal information entrusted to its care," Daniel Therrien, the privacy commissioner of Canada, wrote in a release published this morning.
The report says the breach compromised the data of nearly 9.7 million Canadians.
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The probe found a series of gaps in the company's administrative and technological safeguards.

"Desjardins had recognized some of the security weaknesses that ultimately led to the breach and had developed a plan to remedy them. Nonetheless, it failed to rectify the issues in time to prevent what happened," said Therrien.
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guest · Dec 22, 2021

Desjardins settles 2019 data breach class-action lawsuit for up to nearly $201M
Settlement will provide compensation for identity theft, loss of time due to breach
December 16, 2021

Financial services firm Desjardins Group will pay up to nearly $201 million to settle a class-action lawsuit related to a data breach in 2019 that affected close to 9.7 million Canadians.

The agreement, which is subject to approval by the Quebec Superior Court, would allow eligible individuals who were affected by the privacy breach that came to light in June 2019 to receive a payment.
The settlement applies to members and former members as well as clients and former clients of the financial co-operative who have held Desjardins credit cards or financing products.
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Plaintiff law firms Siskinds Desmeules and Kugler Kandestin say the agreement provides compensation for loss of time related to the personal information breach, as well as compensation for identity theft.
Details of the settlement are available at www.desjardinssettlement.com [...]
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Canadian lender Desjardins says personal data of 2.9 million members breached

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