A federal judge has certified a class action lawsuit alleging that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) allowed thousands of taxpayer identities to be breached by hackers, who then used the information to illegally collect Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) payments.
Based on the accusations of the case’s plaintiff, BC resident Todd Sweet, federal judge Richard Southcott wrote it appears that thousands of Canadians “were vulnerable to hackers from approximately June to August of 2020” because the CRA allegedly was dealing with “operational failures” that prevented it from securing online taxpayer portals.
“The Plaintiff further alleges that, by obtaining unauthorized access to those accounts, hackers were able to commit identity theft and CERB fraud and access sensitive and personal information,” Southcott wrote in “Todd Sweet v. Her Majesty the Queen,” as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter….