Nova Scotia Power sees big turnout for cyber security breach information session in Cape Breton

Nova Scotia Power hosted an information session on its recent data breach in New Waterford on Tuesday.

People were lined up out the door of the New Waterford Fire Hall on Tuesday, many of them with letters in hand telling them they had been impacted by Nova Scotia Power’s recent security breach.

“Ridiculous,” said one customer who was waiting in the lineup outside.

“They’re trying,” said another. “They’re trying something for us, but maybe they could have done it a little bit different.”

The utility was hosting one of a series of in-person sessions in communities across Nova Scotia to help people sign-up for additional protection as part of a response to what happened.

“Essentially, for any customer who did receive a letter we are offering two years of credit monitoring through the TransUnion service ‘My True Identity,’” said Chris Lanteigne, director of customer care for Nova Scotia Power. “You can sign up at mytrueidentity.ca using the code that is in the letter.”

A lot of the people who showed up at the session in New Waterford were seniors, some of whom said they don’t often use internet or email.

Nova Scotia Power said part of the goal of these in-person sessions is to try to help people figure out other ways to access the credit monitoring, and to better protect themselves.

“Getting a copy of your credit report,” Lanteigne added. “You can do that through both Trans Union and Equifax, the two major credit reporting agencies in Canada. There are also options where you can place an alert on your credit file through those organizations.”

“[The] lineup was too long, so I’m going to try it at home,” said one customer after exiting the session.

Frustrated, some people left before getting any help. Others said they were confused by what they were told.

The utility said more opportunities like this one will take place elsewhere in the province the rest of the week and in the near future.

“We are very sorry that this did happen,” Lanteigne said. “We know that it has caused concerns for our customers. We feel that the most important thing people can do right now is protect themselves.”

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