City of Mississauga reports privacy breach related to online survey

 

If you recently filled out an online survey for the City of Mississauga, some of your information might have been compromised in a privacy breach.

In a Feb. 9 email to affected residents, the city said it was made aware of a privacy breach at a third-party contractor, NATIONAL Public Relations, that has conducted work on behalf of the municipality. 

Thes said it's been working with the contractor to "understand the details of this incident."

According to the email, the information that was involved in the breach includes the email address and answers that residents provided in the city’s Climate Change Action Plan Survey from Sept. 29 to Oct. 20, 2020.

"The City of Mississauga takes issues of privacy very seriously. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or concern this may have caused. Please be reassured that this matter has high priority and the City is making every effort to respond to this situation," the city said in the email.

"We recommend that you be vigilant and exercise caution regarding the email address that you used for the survey. You should change your email password, be careful of clicking on web links inside emails, and take other preventative measures for your protection."