Data breach Discovered at IKEA Canada impacts 95,000 Customers

IKEA says that it has notified Canada’s privacy watchdog following a large data breach involving the personal information of approximately 95,000 customers.

In a statement, the furniture retailer said that some of its customers’ personal information appeared in the results of a “generic search” performed by a co-worker at IKEA Canada between March 1-3 using IKEA’s customer database.

IKEA revealed that no financial or banking information was involved in the breach.

“At IKEA the security of our customers’ private information is of utmost importance and we have proactively notified the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada about this incident, as well as any applicable customers. We have also reviewed and updated internal processes to prevent such incidents in the future,” the statement read. “No action is required by our customers.”

“While we can’t speculate as to why the search was made, we can share that we have taken actions to remedy this situation,” Ikea Canada PR leader Kristin Newbigging said. “We have also reviewed our internal processes and reminded our co-workers of their obligation to protect customer information.”

In a letter sent to affected customers, IKEA Canada said that compromised data included customer names, email addresses, phone numbers and postal codes. It also said that IKEA Family loyalty program numbers belonging to customers may have also been visible.

IKEA Canada has reportedly submitted a breach report to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC).