BGRS and SIRVA Canada systems privacy breach affecting current and former federal employees
On this page
Overview of the privacy breach
On October 19, 2023, BGRS confirmed that there had been a breach involving Government of Canada information held by BGRS and SIRVA Canada systems. These companies provide relocation support to federal employees.
The government took immediate action to investigate the breach, including
- informing the public of the incident, and
- reporting the breach to the
- Canadian Centre for Cyber Security,
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner, and
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
The companies, SIRVA and BGRS, have identified the people whose sensitive personal information was compromised in the breach. SIRVA Canada is contacting those who were directly impacted.
Credit monitoring services
Beginning December 15, 2023, the Government of Canada offered credit monitoring services for up to one year for all current and former employees and their families potentially affected by the BGRS and SIRVA Canada privacy breach. The credit monitoring services included credit monitoring, dark web monitoring, and identity (ID) theft insurance.
Additionally, SIRVA is offering credit or identity monitoring services to certain individuals who are confirmed to have been affected by the breach. SIRVA is contacting individuals directly with instructions on how to initiate this monitoring.
How to safeguard your information
Continue to take precautionary measures to safeguard financial and personal information online, such as:
- updating login credentials that may be similar to those used with BGRS or SIRVA Canada
- enabling multi-factor authentication on accounts that are used for online transactions
- monitoring financial and personal online accounts for any unusual activity.
If you see unauthorized access to personal or financial accounts, take the following steps:
Step 1
Notify your financial institution immediately
Step 2
Contact local police
Step 3
Contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) using their Online Reporting System or by phone at 1-888-495-8501.
Current and former employees who have questions should contact their departmental Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP)_coordinator.
Related information
- Protecting yourself from identity theft online (ITSAP.00.033) - Canadian Centre for Cyber Security
- What to do if you’re a victim of fraud (antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca)
- Privacy Commissioner initiates investigations into breach impacting federal government personnel who used relocation services
- File a formal privacy complaint
Page details
- Date modified: