Rogers and Fido Hit by Data Breach Exposing Customer Information Rogers Communications and its subsidiary Fido disclosed a data breach on Friday after detecting unauthorized access to customer information through internal security monitoring. The compromised data includes names, contact details, account numbers, and language preferences, though the company confirmed that sensitive information such as social insurance numbers, dates of birth, passwords, and financial details remained secure. In a statement to The Globe and Mail, Rogers spokesperson Zac Carreiro acknowledged the incident, stating that immediate action was taken to investigate and bolster protections. The company is still determining the full scope of the breach and has not yet disclosed the number of affected customers or how long the unauthorized access persisted. Notably, Rogers did not address whether the breach was connected to recent IT layoffs or how the exposed account numbers could be exploited in future phishing attacks. The incident follows similar breaches at other Canadian telecoms, including Freedom Mobile and Telus Digital. Rogers continues its investigation and plans to notify impacted customers.

Canadian Data Breaches Hit Record Costs in 2026, IBM Report Finds A new report from IBM reveals that data breaches in Canada reached an average cost of $7.11 million per incident in 2026, up from $6.98 million in 2025. The breaches exposed an average of 28,500 records an 8% increase from the previous year and took 205 days to detect and contain, a 6% rise in response time. The rising costs stem from the complex aftermath of breaches, including business disruption, recovery efforts, legal obligations, and customer communications, according to Chris Sicard, IBM Canada’s security leader. Some companies even pass recovery expenses to clients, amplifying the financial strain. The report defines data breaches as incidents compromising personally identifiable, financial, medical, or proprietary information, with some attacks exposing up to 115,380 records. High-profile Canadian companies including Rogers, Fido, Telus Digital, Loblaw, Canada Computers, and Ardene have reported breaches in 2026. Energy companies faced the highest average breach costs at $9.21 million, followed by technology firms ($9.02 million) and industrial organizations ($8.89 million). Sicard attributed the higher costs to their larger networks, sensitive data, and low tolerance for downtime, making them prime targets for attackers. The report also highlighted the role of AI in cybersecurity, with organizations using AI extensively reporting lower breach costs ($5.5 million vs. $8.91 million) and faster response times 124 days to detect and 57 to contain, compared to 154 days and 71 days for non-AI adopters. AI is increasingly used for vulnerability patching, breach detection, and containment, improving efficiency in mitigating attacks.