In light of rampant cyber fraud in Canada, TransUnion is beefing up protective measures against identity theft
In light of rampant cyber fraud in Canada, TransUnion is beefing up protective measures against identity theft.
With the launch of TrueIdentity, consumers will be given unlimited online access to their credit information and remain shielded against data breaches. They will also receive unlimited access to their TransUnion CreditVision Risk score, and receive email notifications about changes to their credit files. One of TrueIdentity’s key features is yet more unlimited access to educational resources concerning credit management, fraud victim assistance and identity theft prevention, in addition to daily updates.
In essence, TransUnion endeavours to equip organizations with a platform that will shield their customers from the ever-growing threat of sophisticated scams—consider that, in 2018, the cost of data breaches to Canadian organizations averaged $6.37 million, according to an IBM study. That doesn’t even take into account the reputational hazard a data breach creates.
“In today’s reality, any organization with digital access to consumer information is vulnerable—from financial institutions, consulting firms, retailers, healthcare providers through to government institutions,” said TransUnion Canada’s Timothy Walsh, senior director of breach services. “In the event of a breach, it’s important for organizations to prepare and activate a response plan to help protect their customers, and to have the right processes and partnerships in place to minimize potential damages.”
With breaches, Walsh suggests timing is everything. Citing the IBM study, he added that it takes around six months for Canadian organizations to become aware of the breach, much less fix it.
“In the event of a cyber-attack on an organization, it can lead to the compromise of data security measures, involuntary exposure of consumer information and the identity theft of their employees or customers. In this scenario, organizations look to provide the right support and protection to potentially impacted individuals,” said Walsh.
“Timing to react to a breach is critical. According to a recent study from IBM, it took an average of 196 days before Canadian organizations detected a breach. Leveraging an effective response strategy is imperative—our aim is to enable organizations to equip their customers with a solution to help combat identity theft in the most efficient and effective way.”
