Canada gov’t reports breaches soar, CRA hit hardest

The Canadian federal government reported more data breaches during a 10-month period from April 1, 2013 to January 29, 2014 than it did in the preceding 10 years, according to a report in the Ottawa Citizen.

Nearly 80 percent of the 3,763 data breaches that plagued Canada's government during that 10-year period occurred at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) during the 10-month period.

The huge uptick, from a little more than 3,000 breaches in total for the previous 10 years, is a result of CRA reporting on its data woes for the first time in the wake of high-profile breaches and after coming under attack for removing several authentication requirements from its electronic tax-filing policy.

The recently released Canadian government breach figures are also incomplete because several agencies, including the Department of National Defence, didn't provide data.