OTTAWA, November 26, 2007 – Jennifer Stoddart,
the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, appeared on the CBS News program “60
Minutes” last night to provide information on her investigation
into the extensive loss of personal information by at TJX, a U.S.
retailer that operates stores under the names T.J. Maxx, Marshalls,
Winners and HomeSense.
The video of the interview and investigative report is available on
the CBS News Web site: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3538299n. A transcript is also available: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/21/60minutes/main3530302.shtml (the video and transcript are presented in their original language).
On September 25, 2007, Ms. Stoddart and her colleague, Frank Work,
the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, released the results
of an investigation into the loss of millions of credit card numbers,
driver’s license numbers, social insurance numbers and other personal
information as the result of a hacker’s attack on TJX’s
computer systems.
This investigation was conducted in conjunction with Commissioner Work’s
office. As Ms. Stoddart noted at the time:
“The company collected too much personal information, kept it
too long and relied on weak encryption technology to protect it – putting
the privacy of millions of its customers at risk,” says Privacy
Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart.
The September 25, 2007 news release is available on the Office of the
Privacy Commissioner’s web site, as is the full text of the report of our investigation.
News Release: http://www.privcom.gc.ca/media/nr-c/2007/nr-c_070925_e.asp
Report: http://www.privcom.gc.ca/cf-dc/2007/TJX_rep_070925_e.asp
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For more information and/or media interview requests, contact:
Colin McKay
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Tel: (613) 995-0103
E-mail: cmckay@privcom.gc.ca
