Less than a week after an exclusive CBC investigation revealed over 1.5 million Canadian Crime Stoppers tips were compromised in a massive data breach, the fallout continues to grow.
According to CBC’s tally, at least 11 Crime Stoppers programs have now announced they are pausing their intake of anonymous tips, and 24 police units across the country have suspended their partnership with the organization.
The wave of temporary suspensions follows a CBC News investigation published last week that revealed anonymous tips attached to over 60 Canadian Crime Stoppers chapters were compromised in a data hack last March — exposing phone numbers, addresses and even the names of some tipsters.
On Friday, Navigate360 — the third-party U.S.-based company that manages all of Crime Stoppers international tips — confirmed its systems had been breached. It was its first public acknowledgment of the hack, seven months after it happened.
CBC has reached out repeatedly to Navigate360 before and after publishing its story, but has received no response.
Most of the police services in Ontario and Manitoba explained they are pausing their partnerships with Crime Stoppers until an investigation can show that it’s safe for tipsters to contact them again.
Among recent additions to the list is the Brantford Police Service, which wrote in a statement Monday that its decision “reflects the importance of ensuring appropriate safeguards are in place to protect the confidentiality of information and the anonymity of individuals who come forward.”
The Winnipeg Police Service, one of two police departments in Manitoba to have suspended its use of Crime Stoppers, said in a press release on Friday that “public trust is essential to the success of any reporting platform, and we recognize the importance of maintaining confidence in the security and confidentiality of information shared by members of the public.”
Dozens of local chapters contacted by CBC
Over the past week, our team of CBC reporters has contacted at least 35 local chapters of the organization — including all those with the highest number of compromised tips.
We asked them if they intended on following the lead of Toronto Crime Stoppers which announced last Wednesday that it was pausing its program, effective immediately.
Out of a total of 35 chapters contacted, 10 replied directly to CBC News or subsequently issued public statements, while 25 have yet to respond to our requests for comment.
The majority of the programs that replied confirmed to CBC they would no longer be accepting anonymous tips.
Three chapters referred CBC back to their provincial or national associations.
A single chapter, New Brunswick Crime Stoppers, said it intends to continue its program.
Saskatchewan programs say focus is ‘getting answers’
On Friday night, all five Crime Stoppers programs in Saskatchewan announced they were pausing all tips intake across the province, effective immediately.
CBC asked representatives of the group for an interview and was told on Monday that “there are too many programs and moving parts to designate one person as a spokesperson at this time.”
Replying by email, the Association of Crime Stoppers Programs of Saskatchewan, which represents all five programs, said they are currently “working to understand the scope of this breach in Saskatchewan” and “through legal counsel, we are pressing Navigate360 for the information we need.”
“The need for Crime Stoppers has not gone away. We are working hard to ensure people can submit tips in a safe and confidential way. We have asked Navigate360 repeatedly for the information we need…. Once we have it, we can assess the scope and impact of this breach across Saskatchewan’s programs.”
On Monday, two more Crime Stoppers chapters in Northern Ontario added their names to the growing list of organizations pulling away from the anonymous tip program.
Near North Crime Stoppers — which encourages North Bay residents to report crimes anonymously — published a notice on its website saying it has “paused the acceptance of new tips through our telephone line, website, and mobile app following a cybersecurity breach.”
A CBC News investigation found more than a million tips submitted to Crime Stoppers in Canada over the past 25 years were exposed in a massive data breach. About half the leaked Canadian tips obtained by CBC contained personal information.
“This temporary pause has not been an easy decision, but we believe it is necessary while the situation is assessed and appropriate safeguards are established,” the public notice said.
Sault Ste. Marie Crime Stoppers also published a note on its website explaining that “it is currently unable to accept or forward tips intended for Sault Ste. Marie Police Service and Anishinabek Police Service, which have paused its participation in the program.”
Association advises chapters to ‘not provide interviews to CBC’
To date, the chair of the Toronto Crime Stoppers chapter is the only one to have spoken publicly about the decision to suspend the program. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of chapters — 49 of the 64, according to CBC’s tally — with tips compromised in the leak have yet to acknowledge the breach publicly, whether they were prompted to by CBC or not.
An internal memo obtained by CBC News dated Oct. 22 — the day after the publication of our initial investigation — suggests answers as to why that could be.
“Do not provide interviews, statements, background or ‘off the record’ comments to CBC or any other outlet, including local media,” writes David J. Forster, president of the Canadian Crime Stoppers Association, adding that “If contacted, please let them know they can reach out to the Canadian Crime Stoppers Association, and provide our contact information.”
The memo continues by asking that local chapters who are asked questions about the breach by their “law enforcement partner” — meaning the police unit covering their territory — also direct them to the association.
Without speaking publicly, at least one local chapter has made a discreet change to its website that suggests it is aware of the breach’s now very public disclosure.
Calgary Crime Stoppers, which has not replied to CBC’s request for comment, added a banner to its website that reads: “DO NOT SUBMIT PERSONAL DETAILS. Self-identification compromises your legal right to anonymity under Canadian Law.”
Toronto, Halton and Guelph are among the Ontario cities temporarily pausing Crime Stoppers tip programs after a CBC News investigation revealed a massive data breach exposed 1.5 million tips over the past 25 years to possible exploitation by hackers.
