Canada’s privacy czar seeking information in massive driver’s licence hack

The Canadian federal privacy commissioner is actively involved in a recent massive hack that may have exposed the driver's licence data of millions of North Americans. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) is engaged with the company to obtain more information, ensure compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and determine the appropriate next steps.

PIPEDA requires organizations to report breaches involving personal information if there is a reasonable belief that the breach could cause significant harm, such as financial loss or identity theft. The spokesperson for the federal privacy commissioner could not confirm additional specifics to Global News, and it remains unclear how many Canadians' personal information may have been exposed.

The RCMP is monitoring the situation and working with domestic and international law enforcement and cybersecurity partners. The alleged source of the stolen digital scans is IDScan.net, a company based in New Orleans. IDScan.net confirmed to Global News that they became aware of unauthorized access to their system on or around September 1.

The company is investigating the matter and will contact those who may have been affected with free credit monitoring and identity protection services. With potentially millions of Canadians' sensitive data exposed, experts warn of the risks of identity fraud and financial scams.