Level of credit protection unclear in wake of lost personal data

In the wake of a class action lawsuit, thefederal government now says it will provide a "credit flag" service fornearly 600,000Canadians whose data was lost in November. But it isnot thesame level of credit protection itadvised those affected to get, and pay for themselves.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) said the hard drive was lost in November from an office in Gatineau, Que.and thesearch for the hard drive continues. The people affected, whoreceived letters earlier this month warning them about the data breach, had Canada Student Loans between 2000 and 2006.

The departmentoriginally told concerned individuals to get their own credit protection, which costs approximately $15 a month. This spurred a class action lawsuit by St. John's lawyer Bob Buckingham, the government back-pedaled andcontracted the credit bureau, Equifax, to provide free credit and identity protection services for six years.

That meansfiles will be monitored by Equifax for any odd activity after those affected provide consent, but there won't be annual or monthly credit checks.

Equifax spokespersonTom Carroll says acredit flagforces the bank to look into who might be applying for credit in your name. Asked if it's the same as the $15 a month credit monitoring that HRSDC hadtold borrowers to buy, Carroll said no.

Repeated attempts to speak with Human Resources minister Diane Finley have been unsuccessful and again on Fridayshe avoided answering questions about the lost hard drive and her ministry's response whileleaving a spending announcement in Gatineau.

Her only statement on the matter came by way of a press release.

"While there is no evidence that information has been fraudulently accessed or used, I want to reassure Canadians that we are serious about protecting their personal information," Human Resources MinisterDiane Finley said in a statement.

"That is why we will provide potentially affected individuals with credit protection at no cost, which will flag their credit files and help detect any potential compromise of their personal information."

From Buckingham's perspective, picking up the tab for credit protection is a good first step but the class action would proceed.

"This is but a portion of one of the costs we are seeking to recuperate for claimants," he said in apressrelease Friday.

Data loss 'unprecedented'

There are currently at least four lawsuits filed in relation to the data breach pushing the government to pay for credit protection safeguards and compensating those affected for stress and fear.

Canada's assistant privacy commissioner, Chantal Bernier, has said the loss of so much personal data is "unprecedented," adding that her office is investigating the incident.

"This is one of the biggest breaches we've ever seen," Bernier has told CBC News.

The 5,000 people affected by the loss of a USB key in November can also reach out to HRSDC for free credit monitoring, the ministry said.