Class-Action Lawsuit Unfolds Against Interior Health: The 2009 Data Breach That Affects You!

B.C.’s Interior Health Authority (IH) is facing a class-action lawsuit due to a serious data breach that occurred in 2009. This breach allegedly exposed sensitive information of thousands of current and former employees, which later appeared for sale on the dark web.

The lawsuit was filed on May 22 in the B.C. Supreme Court. It claims that employees who worked for IH between January 2003 and December 2009 had their personal details compromised. The breach reportedly allowed cybercriminals to access information that IH was supposed to protect.

As of May 2025, many details about the breach remain unclear. IH hasn’t disclosed vital information, such as how the breach happened or how many people were affected. This has led to growing frustration among those impacted.

Lead plaintiff Rae Fergus, a former IH employee, revealed that her information has been used fraudulently since 2022. She discovered that someone had obtained a car loan and a credit card in her name without her knowledge.

Another plaintiff, Susan Shaw, learned about the breach from a news article only last month. She was not informed by IH directly. Upon contacting them, she found out her personal data was compromised and was offered two years of free credit monitoring as compensation.

The breach garnered public attention in April 2024 when B.C. Conservative MLA Bruce Banman raised questions in the Legislature. He noted that over 28,000 social insurance numbers were stolen, leading to various fraudulent activities.

In March 2024, IH released a statement about the breach after an RCMP investigation uncovered documents related to it. Legal actions have been taken on behalf of those who provided personal information during their employment with IH.

The lawsuit points out that since 2017, police in several cities have found documents containing this stolen information. For instance, authorities arrested an individual in Port Coquitlam who had data from 300 employees while trying to create false identities.

Despite these incidents, IH initially stated that there was no indication of unlawful use of the data when Mal Griffen, IH’s vice-president of human resources, communicated with employees in late 2017. A small number of affected individuals were later notified, but many others, according to the lawsuit, were left in the dark.

In January 2024, further revelations surfaced when the RCMP discovered documents with information on over 20,000 employees. Two months later, IH acknowledged the breach publicly for the first time.

The lawsuit criticizes IH for denying that the stolen information circulated on the dark web, calling their handling of the situation “reckless.” According to statistics from the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, data breaches like this have risen significantly, affecting thousands of Canadians annually. Addressing these risks is crucial, especially given the increasing reliance on digital systems.



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