RCMP investigates link between data breach at ICBC and series of arsons and shootings

The RCMP has linked a data breach at the ICBC with a series of arsons and shootings since September 2011 that have targeted approximately 13 people linked to the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC).
No one has been physically harmed to date. The victims do not appear to be affiliated with any criminal activity, the RCMP said in a statement.
“We can now state the investigation revealed a link to an ICBC employee, who allegedly accessed personal information of 65 individuals, including the 13 identified victims,” chief superintendent Janice Armstrong, operations officer for the Lower Mainland District Regional Police Service, said in a press release. “That employee, along with other individuals, is under continued police investigation.
“ICBC has cooperated fully with the police investigators, assisting us in contacting and warning those whose information was compromised. Additionally, police continue to pursue significant investigative avenues to determine if others could be at risk.”
The RCMP-led investigation, in partnership with municipal police departments, was announced in early September. It has been conducted in concert with senior management at JIBC, a post-secondary education institution based in New Westminster.
The incidents occurred throughout the Lower Mainland and do not target any specific area, the RCMP release says. None have occurred at the Justice Institute in New Westminster, or its campuses in other locations.
“We are appalled that one of our employees inappropriately accessed the information of so many customers without any apparent business reason to do so,” says Jon Schubert, president and CEO of ICBC. “Our main concern is for the customers who have suffered as a result of this privacy breach.”
The person in question has had their employment with ICBC terminated with cause and no severance, Schubert added. “We have conducted a thorough internal and an independent external review of our systems as a result of the privacy breach and have taken steps to better guard against this type of incident from happening again.”