Equifax Tells Canadians to do More to Protect their Data

Equifax Tells Canadians to do More to Protect their Data

Despite their new image as a failed cybersecurity company, Equifax is warning Canadians to do more to protect their data.

  • By Sydny Shepard
  • Mar 15, 2019

Equifax, the company that two U.S. Congressional investigations accused of having poor security after suffering a huge data breach that exposed the personal information of millions of people, is now concerned ordinary Canadians aren't doing enough to keep financial information secure.

In a survey released this week, Equifax Canada said fewer Canadians are double-checking their financial statements, shredding personal documents, or installing secure software on their computers despite the increased threat of fraud and identity theft.

“It seems that complacency is setting in for some people when we actually need to be more vigilant than ever in the fight against fraud,” Tara Zecevic, Equifax Canada’s vice-president of fraud prevention and identity management said in a release accompanying the survey.

The survey release comes just one eek after a U.S. Senate subcommittee released a highly critical report into the 2017 incident that made the personal information of 145 million Americans and 19,000 Canadians vulnerable to cybercriminals. Not only that, vulnerability scans failed to detect that the urgency needed to patch Apache Struts web framework hadn't been installed - in part because the IT departments didn't know a server was using a vulnerable version.

Zecevic said the Equifax Canada survey came after seeing an increase in credit card fraud. This was the second annual survey. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were questioned this year.

The survey found that consumers were doing more in two areas: sharing less on social media (up 43 percent from 39 percent from the previous year) and more people are checking their credit reports (up to 28 percent from 21 percent). Surprisingly, the report said, millennials checked their credit reports more than any other age group (29 percent).

However, only 35 percent of respondents (and 22 percent of millennials) said they install and/or update security software on your personal computer. And only 49 percent (39 percent of millennials) said they regularly update their security passwords. This last may not be serious; experts say as long as a password is strong enough it isn’t necessary to change passwords over short periods as previously recommended.

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services

  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.