Kroll Expands Data Breach Management Services in Canada to Include Data Breach Response

Kroll's Fraud Solutions practice, a leading provider of data incident management and identity theft response services, including breach preparedness and post-breach solutions, has extended its existing offerings in Canada to include breach response management for businesses. The expansion comes as more North American businesses face the relentless truth: data breaches continue to occur regardless of physical and electronic defenses, increasing consumers' expectations that an organization establish a plan of appropriate action before a data breach actually occurs.

Canadian companies must comply with existing privacy regulations like the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which governs how organizations use people's data, and Ontario's Personal Health Information Protection Act, which requires mandatory notification of individuals whose personal health information has been breached. In Alberta, recent changes to the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) in Bill 54 require in certain circumstances that organizations report a breach to the Privacy Commissioner, who could order notification.

"Canadian organizations require a solution that will not only augment their specific data protection needs, but also ensure that they are meeting federal and provincial requirements," said Shawn Melito, director of Kroll's Fraud Solutions practice in Canada. "We are proud to expand to Canada Kroll's legacy of first-in-class identity theft resolution services by helping organizations and consumers implement the best methods possible to safeguard private information."

"In today's global economy, the risk of data breach is practically universal. For that reason, it is imperative that organizations have a plan in place," said Brian Lapidus, chief operating officer of Kroll's Fraud Solutions practice. "We are delighted to support our Toronto-based team, as it transitions from providing individual identity theft services alone, to now include data breach mitigation for organizations."

Among the Kroll services now available to the Canadian market are: Breach Preparedness Program, which helps organizations develop a flexible, scalable program to identify and mitigate the risks of data theft, loss or misuse. The program's key features are a proprietary risk self-assessment to detect existing threats of exposure, privacy awareness training courseware for employees, a customizable incident response plan for the facility, and informative legislative updates to ensure clients stay up-to-date on related notification and privacy regulations. Breach Response Program, which is unparalleled in providing an effective solution that consistently surpasses a data breach victim's needs and expectations. Breach management and recovery services include data forensics to determine the extent of the breach and whether notification is necessary, crisis communications and media management, and finally, enrollment and notification of breach victims. A domestic customer service centre staffed by Canada-based client representatives provides breach victims with toll-free telephone access to ask questions and receive information and guidance. Consultation and Restoration Services, which are provided by Kroll's experienced fraud specialists to the individuals whose data is exposed in a data breach. Kroll offers unfettered access to experts whenever the breach victims have questions or concerns about the event itself, or identity theft in general; consultation is available whether an identity issue has surfaced or not. For those individuals who do become victims of identity theft, the involvement of Kroll's professional fraud specialists is a critical differentiator in service, as these experts perform most of the work needed to resolve issues on behalf of the victims.

Kroll also offers an employee benefit solution for companies looking to provide a valuable identity theft consultation and restoration service to their employees. A customer-focused identity theft consultation and restoration service is also available for membership or affinity benefits.

Kroll's identity theft and breach response management services for Canada are entirely Canada-based and fully bilingual, with triage centers located in Kitchener and Montreal and an investigative team based in Toronto. For more information, visit: www.krollfraudsolutions.ca. About Kroll Kroll, the world's leading risk consulting company, provides a broad range of investigative, intelligence, financial, security and technology services to help clients reduce risks, solve problems and capitalize on opportunities. Kroll Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MMC), the global professional services firm. Kroll began providing identity theft solutions in 1999 and created its Fraud Solutions practice in 2002 in response to increasing requests from clients for counsel and services associated with the loss of sensitive personal information, and related identity protection and restoration issues facing organizations and individuals. Since then, Kroll's Fraud Solutions clients have included Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, and government entities dealing with healthcare, financial services, insurance, consumer service, and any activity involving the collection and use of personal information. Kroll's Fraud Solutions team presently serves over 10,000 businesses and millions of individual consumers. For more information, visit: www.krollfraudsolutions.com.