guard.me privacy notice
July 29, 2021
GUELPH, Ontario – The Upper Grand District School Board’s (UGDSB) International Student Program’s primary provider of emergency medical insurance coverage for international students, guard.me, has informed us of a cybersecurity incident resulting from an unauthorized third-party unlawfully accessing their data systems. Many of guard.me’s clients, including UGDSB, are impacted by this incident and the board, together with guard.me, are in the process of contacting all impacted students directly.
The board takes the privacy of students and their families very seriously. We are advocating on behalf of our students in this process and are working closely with guard.me to understand why this happened, what data was impacted and what actions they are taking to improve their security.
If you use guard.me’s services, here are some things you can do to protect your privacy now:
- guard.me is offering credit monitoring services to individuals impacted by this incident for the next year. Contact guard.me for more information.
- Change your guard.me password.
- If you use the same password for other websites or services, we recommend you change your password on those other systems. It is never a good idea to use the same password for multiple systems, as a breach in one system puts the others at risk.
- Remain vigilant, as always, to the possibility of fraud and identity theft by reviewing your financial statements and accounts regularly for any unauthorized activity. Notify your local law enforcement of any suspicious activity.
- Visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre to learn how to protect yourself from scams and fraud.
- Visit getcybersafe.ca to learn about cyber security and the simple steps you can take to protect yourself online.
The UGDSB has reported this privacy breach to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. If you have UGDSB-specific questions, please contact [email protected]. Otherwise, please refer to the guard.me customer notice or contact guard.me directly at [email protected] or at 1-888-348-1946 or +1 905-752-6207.
Categories: News