Protecting customer data key priority, industry insists
By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
Feb. 5, 2007
Click here to view this article on OttawaBusinessJournal.com.
Photo by DARREN BROWN for the Ottawa Business Journal
While it may seem like these are dangerous times for consumers who shop with credit and debit cards, the retail industry’s players say they are working hard to protect consumer data.
Consumers had a few security breach scares recently, first in mid-December when Winners and HomeSense parent company TJX Cos. discovered that hackers had stolen customers’ credit and debit card information from its network. This was followed by Talvest Mutual Fund’s mid-January announcement that it had lost a backup file containing sensitive client information.
“It’s happening quite often, and it’s worrisome for the consumer,” says bankruptcy lawyer Stanley Kershman of Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP. “The consumer has reason to worry because if their information goes out online, it could potentially be used by fraudsters.”
Mr. Kershman says companies must be accountable for these breaches, and that more resources (more…)
