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B.C.’s privacy watchdog has launched an investigation into whether the provincial Crime Stoppers society took adequate steps to protect personal information following a massive data breach across Canada.
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for B.C. (OIPC) announced Tuesday that it’s investigating whether the B.C. Crime Stoppers met its obligation under the Personal Information Protection Act to take reasonable steps to safeguard the personal information it holds.
Last month, an exclusive CBC investigation found more than 1.5 million tips submitted to Canadian Crime Stoppers programs over the last 25 years were exposed in a massive data breach.
The data was stolen last March by hacktivist collective Internet Yiff Machine. In a manifesto, the group said it wanted to disprove the claim by P3 Global Intel — the company hired by Crime Stoppers to manage its tips — that the platform was “anonymous” and “secure.”
Crime Stoppers is a network of civilian-run non-profits that collects anonymous tips on crime and suspicious activity. It operates independently of law enforcement, though it refers a portion of tips back to them to assist in investigations.
The organization often appeals to the public, in partnership with police, for help with unsolved crimes and to advance investigations — all with the promise of anonymity for tipsters who contact them.
Many of the compromised tips dealt with serious allegations, with some people explicitly saying they feared retribution for speaking out.
A third of all tips talked about drugs and drug trafficking; hundreds reported suspicious activity in their neighbourhoods, often naming individuals and implicating organized crime, biker gangs or drug cartels — including the Hells Angels, Rock Machine and Outlaws, as well as B.C.’s Red Scorpions and Independent Soldiers.
The breach has prompted several police agencies and Crime Stoppers chapters across Canada to temporarily suspend their participation or stop accepting tips.
Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers has posted a notice on its website asking people not to submit information through its program until further notice.
“This pause is temporary. We will begin accepting new tips as soon as we are confident it is safe to do so,” the organization said.
It is directing people with information about crimes to contact their local police departments instead.
According to B.C. Crime Stoppers, 15 volunteer-driven chapters operate across the province.
The OIPC says people who believe their information may have been compromised do not need to file individual complaints because of the sensitive nature of the data involved.
The watchdog said it could not provide further details while its investigation remains active.
The federal privacy commissioner has also previously announced his office is looking into the breach.
