Montreal, December 1, 2021 – Quebec's Superior Court has agreed to lift confidentiality on an Anton Piller order, an exceptional measure authorized by the court. The Anton Piller order was used by Desjardins to recover material quickly from the home of the ill-intentioned ex-employee identified by Desjardins as the person responsible for the privacy breach in June 2019. The confidentiality order meant that until now, Desjardins could not comment fully on the situation.
These documents clearly show that Desjardins has acted in good faith to protect its members and clients since the beginning. Desjardins has always fully cooperated with the police and will continue to do so. The organization remains as committed as ever to providing them with the information they need to lay charges. Commenting on Desjardins's regulatory responsibilities, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada made note of the organization's cooperation in their December 2020 report.
On May 22, 2019, Laval police informed Desjardins that the personal information of members and clients had been shared with third parties. Desjardins promptly decided to take action and recover any material from the home of the person responsible. Desjardins's goal was to protect its members and clients by putting an end to the scheme as quickly as possible to limit the number of people affected and to ensure that the person responsible was stopped. At that time, Desjardins did not know who was involved. It was urgent to act before the ill-intentioned ex-employee could conceal or destroy any of Desjardins's confidential and strategic information or disclose it to third parties.
Desjardins is among the most security conscious organizations when it comes to information security and privacy risk. The organization has made great strides in information security and will continue to apply international best practices.
Over the next few years, Desjardins will continue to work with other partners to create a digital identity platform for Canadians. This will allow information to be shared more securely and give people more control over their own information.