B.C. Privacy Watchdog Investigates Crime Stoppers After Massive Data Breach Exposes 1.5 Million Tips
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia is investigating B.C. Crime Stoppers after a hacktivist collective stole more than 1.5 million anonymous tips spanning 25 years, prompting several police agencies and chapters to suspend tip intake.
British Columbia’s privacy watchdog announced on Tuesday that it has launched an investigation into whether B.C. Crime Stoppers met its obligations under the Personal Information Protection Act to safeguard personal information. The probe follows a massive data breach that exposed more than 1.5 million tips submitted to Canadian Crime Stoppers programs over the last 25 years.
A CBC News investigation revealed the scale of the breach. The data was stolen last March by the hacktivist collective Internet Yiff Machine. In a manifesto, the group stated its goal was to disprove claims made by P3 Global Intel—the company hired by Crime Stoppers to manage its tips—that the platform was "anonymous" and "secure."
Many of the compromised tips involved serious allegations, with some tipsters explicitly stating they feared retribution. A third of all leaked tips concerned drugs and drug trafficking. Hundreds of the leaked tips reported suspicious activity involving organized crime groups such as the Hells Angels, Rock Machine, Outlaws, Red Scorpions, and Independent Soldiers.
In response to the breach, several police agencies and Crime Stoppers chapters across Canada have temporarily suspended participation or stopped accepting tips. Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers posted a notice asking people not to submit information until further notice and directing them to contact local police instead. According to B.C. Crime Stoppers, 15 volunteer-driven chapters operate across the province.
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for B.C. (OIPC) stated that individuals who believe their information was compromised do not need to file individual complaints due to the sensitive nature of the data. The federal privacy commissioner has also previously announced an investigation into the breach.