Retired, former TransLink employees’ data may have been compromised in cyberattack

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The scope of the December hack at TransLink appears to be larger than first believed.

Some retired and former employees, as well as some of their spouses, are being contacted by TransLink, telling them their data may have been compromised.

Balbir Mann with Unifor Local 111 says it was initially only active employees that were believed to have been affected.

“They’ve offered, for the regular employees, two-year credit protection. We have been demanding five. It’s the same thing for our retired brothers and sisters; they will be protected with two-year protection,” he said.

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Mann says it’s unclear at this point exactly how many retired and former workers actually had their information accessed, noting the union also sent emails to hundreds of members to ensure they know about the situation.

“The number is quite high. We’re trying to reach out to everyone … Just want to make sure that everyone gets this info,” he said.

He says this is something he’s been worried about since the cyberattack two months ago.

“Their information is still active in the system, even though they’re retired,” Mann said. “I have spoken with a few of the retired members. And they’re quite pleased that … we were keeping them up to date with the all the information.”

TransLink also says it’s still in the process of determining specifics.

A class action lawsuit has been filed by a retired transit worker following the December data breach.

The retired worker, who is only identified by the initials G.D., claims TransLink failed to responsibly manage his personal data and that of others during the data breach.