TORONTO -- If you’ve used LifeLabs for medical tests, it’s possible that you’re one of 15 million customers potentially affected by a recent cyberattack.
LifeLabs, which is one of Canada’s largest medical laboratories, announced Tuesday that hackers may have gained access to customers’ names, addresses, passwords, birth dates, health card numbers and test results.
The company says the vast majority of potentially affected customers are in British Columbia and Ontario.
But what can you do if you think you’re affected by this data breach?
Several dedicated phone lines -- 1-800-431-7206 (British Columbia), 1-877-849-3637 (Ontario) and 1-888-918-0467 -- have been set up for people who want to further information. In a statement on Wednesday, the company said there will be extended call centre hours. People can call weekdays between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., and weekends between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
The company is also offering 12 months of “protection that includes dark web monitoring and identity theft insurance” through TransUnion. You will have to call the dedicated phone line and ask for an activation code, or you can visit the company’s website for more information.
LifeLabs also says it will be contacting 85,000 customers who went to a lab in Ontario in 2016 or earlier because their lab test results may have been impacted.
In an open letter, LifeLabs President and CEO Charles Brown stated that “the risk to our customers in connection with this cyberattack is low.”
He added that the company’s cyber security firms haven’t seen any of the potentially compromised information posted online.
If you have an account with LifeLabs that lets you view online test results and make appointments, the company says you should update your passwords.
