Customer phone numbers, email addresses stolen in Giant Tiger cyber breach

OTTAWA — Giant Tiger Stores Ltd. says contact information for some of its customers was compromised in an "incident" linked to a third-party vendor it uses.

Spokesperson Alison Scarlett did not name the vendor but says the Ottawa-based discount retailer uses the company to manage its customer communications and engagement.

Sault Ste. Marie has two Giant Tiger locations: Wellington Square Mall on Trunk Road and Market Mall on Second Line West.

After learning about a security concern related to that vendor recently, Scarlett says Giant Tiger began contacting customers about the incident, urging them to exercise caution when opening emails and receiving phone calls.

Scarlett says no payment information or passwords were part of the data compromised.

Giant Tiger store systems and applications were also unaffected.

She adds there is no indication that the information has been misused but says the company is working hard to resolve the incident as quickly and openly as possible.

"We deeply regret that the incident occurred and remain committed to employing best practices to prevent these types of incidents," she says in an email to The Canadian Press.

Below is the full text of an email sent to Giant Tiger customers this morning, under the subject line: "Important Security Notice."

Valued customer,

We are writing to inform you about a recent security incident involving your information. Giant Tiger values the trust and loyalty of our customers above all else, and we want to ensure you are aware of the facts.

What happened
Giant Tiger recently became aware of a security incident affecting a third-party vendor we use to manage interactions with our customers. We acted quickly to ensure our own systems remained secure and hired cybersecurity experts to assist with an independent investigation.

On March 15, 2024, our investigation determined that, as a result of the incident, an unauthorized third party was able to obtain copies of information about Giant Tiger customers on or about March 4, 2024.

What information was involved
We have determined that because of this security incident, information belonging to certain Giant Tiger customers was obtained by an unauthorized third party. The information involved varies by individual.