C-W Responds To Data Breach Article

Last week, it was reported that an executive of C-W Agencies, a Vancouver-based direct-marketing firm, absconded with a computer backup tape containing the names and information of about 3.2 million customers, and the credit card and bank information of over 800,000 customers.

The employee, who was vice president of IT at C-W Agencies in Vancouver, was accused in early November of leaving the company after having unauthorized access to storage tapes containing the customer data, the Vancouver Sun reported. After he left, the tape with the data was discovered missing.

The story caught the eye of Gloria Evans, CEO of the company, who emailed Everything Channel to say there have been updates since the incident was reported.

Gloria Evans, CEO of C-W Agencies, said the tape stolen from the company on Nov. 4 has been recovered and is being examined by forensic experts who will determine whether the information has been accessed.

C-W also hopes that, because the tape was encrypted, the data has not been compromised.

C-W also informed its customers of the theft immediately after it happened, Evans wrote.

“We are determined to protect our data and are very confident we are taking all reasonable measures to ensure the security of our customers,” Evans wrote in an email. “Our ability to protect our customer data is at the core of our ability to sustain our company. We appreciate the opportunity to ‘set the record straight.’”

Evans also wrote that the criminal and civil matters that have arisen from this situation are before the courts, and that the company therefore cannot comment further.