Canadian credit agency reports data breach

The credit files of about 600 Canadian consumers were accessed without authorization, credit reporting agency Equifax Canada said Thursday. The breach resulted from what appears to be improper use of the access codes and passwords of one of Equifax's customers, the company said in a statement. Most of the affected people are in British Columbia, and all have been contacted and offered a one-year subscription to a credit monitoring service, Equifax said.

This is not the first data security mishap at Equifax Canada. In March last year the company, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Equifax, warned that the credit reports of about 1,400 consumers had been accessed by criminals posing as legitimate credit grantors. Both cases have been reported to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, according to Equifax.