Cybersecurity incident at Canada Life reportedly impacts thousands

hacker hands at work with graphic user interface around

Insurance provider Canada Life says it’s aware of a cybersecurity incident that may have compromised the personal data of some of its customers, though the full scope of the incident remains under investigation.

“Canada Life recently identified a cyber incident involving unauthorized access to certain applications through an employee account,” the Canadian life and health insurance giant said in a statement posted to its website on Monday.

“The incident has been contained and regular operations and services continue. We launched an immediate investigation with support from leading third-party cybersecurity experts and notified authorities.”

CTVNews.ca reached out to Canada Life about the nature of the incident and number of people impacted but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Some media reports suggest that tens of thousands of people’s personal information was accessed in the breach.

“Our primary focus is the protection and care of our customers, advisors, and employees. While we are finalizing a thorough analysis to understand the exact nature and full scope of impact, we have begun communicating with our customers,” Canada Life’s statement read.

The company says that individuals whose personal information was accessed will be contacted directly soon. For those people, Canada Life says it will offer free-of-charge credit monitoring for an unspecified amount of time.

“Our current assessment is that it is a small proportion of our customers who may have been impacted,” the company said.

“We share the concern of our customers and remain committed to doing the right thing for our stakeholders while navigating this unfortunate event.”