Canada Computers & Electronics, a popular shop for computer products and other accessories with locations around Metro Vancouver and other parts of Canada, has revealed some information regarding a data breach.
Information about the breach initially made waves on Reddit, and now the company has revealed the extent of the breach.
Canada Computers — which is “proudly Canadian owned,” according to the website — says it became aware of the breach on Jan. 22, which involved access to its system supporting its retail operation.
Personal customer information, including credit card information, was compromised.
“Upon discovering the incident, we took immediate action to contain it, notified law enforcement and regulatory authorities, and launched an investigation,” a release from the retailer says.
Based on the investigation to date, the tech chain believes that customers who checked out as “guests” between Dec. 29 and Jan. 22 and entered personal information were impacted. Canada Computers says that there is no impact on customers who were logged in and checked out using their member account.
The tech retailer says in-store purchases were also not impacted and has shared some of the actions it has taken.
On Jan. 25, affected customers were notified with guidance on steps to help protect their financial information. The retailer has also offered complimentary two-year credit monitoring and identity protection services to affected customers.
“The investigation remains ongoing. In addition to our internal team investigation, we have engaged an independent forensic data security firm to assess and confirm the incident’s origin and the scope of the affected information, and support next steps to further strengthen our systems and procedures. Law enforcement agencies have also offered their assistance to Canada Computers,” the retailer adds.
After NCIX filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its locations almost a decade ago, Canada Computers became one of the only major retail computer shops of its kind in the region.
Canada Computers has locations spread across Canada and here in Metro Vancouver, including in Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond.