PIPEDA Findings #2024-002: Investigation into Brinks Home

A Brinks Home customer complained that he could view other customers' personal information through his online portal. The OPC investigated whether Brinks Home had adequate security safeguards and complied with breach notification requirements. Brinks Home acknowledged an employee error caused 3,340 customer records to be accessible to 102 other customers, with up to 20 potentially accessing the data. The OPC found that Brinks Home failed to adequately protect personal information, but this issue was resolved by the company's corrective actions and subsequent sale of its Canadian customer accounts. Regarding breach notification, the OPC determined that while the information was sensitive, the probability of misuse was low because the unauthorized access was by known customers, not malicious actors. Therefore, the incident did not pose a real risk of significant harm, and Brinks Home was not required to report it or notify affected individuals.