CPA Canada Data Breach Affects 329,000 Members

Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) has notified its members of a data security incident affecting personal information held by the organization.

CPA Canada discovered that an unauthorized third party accessed certain personal information through a cyber-attack against the CPA Canada website. Upon discovering this, CPA Canada, with the assistance of cybersecurity experts, took immediate steps to secure its systems and conduct a comprehensive analysis to determine what information may have been involved.

“Safeguarding the information in our care is one of our most important responsibilities and we sincerely regret any concern this incident may cause,” said Joy Thomas, President and CEO of CPA Canada. “We immediately took steps to contain the incident and secure our systems, undertake a thorough investigation to identify those affected, and then notify them of the incident.”

The incident affects over 329,000 individuals, including members and other stakeholders. The information involved predominately relates to the distribution of the CPA Magazine and includes personal information such as names, addresses, email addresses and employer names. In cases where passwords and full credit card numbers were affected, all were protected by encryption.

CPA Canada today has notified affected individuals that the information involved could be used for the purposes of targeted phishing scams. CPA Canada is encouraging affected individuals to remain vigilant about any emails they may receive asking them to provide sensitive information or click on links or attachments, even if they appear to come from CPA Canada or an individual or company they know or trust.

In addition to notifying those affected, CPA Canada has been in contact with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and appropriate privacy authorities.

It is important to note that provincial and regional CPA partners were not targeted in this attack. They operate independent websites, portals, and systems.

CPA Canada has further enhanced its security measures since it learned of this event. CPA Canada is committed to continuing to explore additional opportunities to further strengthen our cybersecurity program.

About the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada

Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) represents the Canadian accounting profession, both nationally and internationally. The organization supports the setting of accounting, auditing and assurance standards, advocates for economic and social development in the public interest, and develops leading-edge thought leadership, research, guidance and educational programs. cpacanada.ca