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On Friday, October 23rd, a third-party, US-based company called Navigate360, responsible for handling tips that come in via the Crimestoppers program, including sensitive information of those who submitted tips, was hacked. Although, the date of the data breach reaches back more than seven months, with October 23rd being the first time the breach was publicly acknowledged. As a result, organizations and police services throughout Canada are halting the use of the service.
On November 2nd, the Blood Tribe Police announced that the Southern Alberta Crime Stoppers officially paused the accepting of tips, and will be paused until further notice. This applied to all tip submission methods, whether online or over the telephone. If you have information regarding a crime or ongoing investigation, you are asked to contact the Blood Tribe Police Dispatch directly, at 403-737-3800.
We reached out to the Tsuut’ina Police to ask about their use of Crime Stoppers, and was provided the below statement.
“We are aware of the recent cybersecurity breach involving Crime Stoppers and are currently evaluating the potential implications for our Service and the communities we serve. As a precautionary measure, we are temporarily refraining from utilizing Crime Stoppers while we assess the situation. We value our relationship with Crime Stoppers and remain hopeful that we can continue working together in the future. Our priority is ensuring the security and integrity of information shared through the program, and we intend to work collaboratively with Crime Stoppers to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place before resuming our participation. We remain committed to protecting the confidentiality of information provided by the public and maintaining trust in the reporting process.”
Elsewhere, the Lethbridge Police Service is also halting it’s use of Crime Stoppers, citing the same privacy concerns. The announcement was made October 30th, and LPS says they are closely monitoring the situation, and plans to carefully review the findings of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, before determining if it will re-enter the program.
CJWE reached out the Calgary Police Service regarding their current standing with the program, as CPS had previously stated they would continue using the program, and said they felt comfortable with the additional security measures provided by Crime Stoppers Canada, despite concerns for the potential risk to Calgarians, but have now decided to temporarily suspend their use of Crime Stoppers. We reached out to CPS today, and received the following statement:
“The situation involving the Crime Stoppers data breach continues to evolve. As additional information has become available, we have continued to assess our approach and work closely with Calgary Crime Stoppers. Following further consultation, CPS and Calgary Crime Stoppers have jointly decided to temporarily suspend our use of Crime Stoppers. We are working together on an interim phone-based solution, and intend to resume using Crime Stoppers once that process has been established.
Crime Stoppers remains an important partner and a valuable source of information that has helped investigators advance cases, and solve crimes. We remain committed to preserving that option for the community and working with Calgary Crime Stoppers toward a secure way forward. Crime Stoppers operated independently of CPS and manages its own information data bases.
Questions about the breach, including whether an individuals information has been affected, should be directed to Crime Stoppers. Anyone who believes they are being threatened or intimidated, or has concerns for their safety as a result of this breach, should contact police in their jurisdiction.”
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