Canada’s privacy commissioner investigates provider behind Crime Stoppers data breach

Canada’s privacy commissioner has launched an investigation into a cybersecurity breach involving anonymous tips shared with Crime Stoppers programs across the country. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) said Wednesday that Commissioner Philippe Dufresne opened an investigation into Navigate360, the commercial provider that manages the P3 tip platform used by Crime Stoppers.

The OPC said the investigation will examine the security safeguards Navigate360 had in place at the time of the breach to assess whether the company complied with Canada’s federal private-sector privacy law. The office has contacted Crime Stoppers and Navigate360. It said its engagement with both organizations is focused on ensuring steps are taken to address the breach and protect Canadians’ personal information, including containing the breach, reducing risks to affected people and preventing future breaches. The OPC will not provide further details while the investigation is active.

The U.S.-based company said in a statement Friday that it first became aware of a breach on March 18. It later learned a third party had accessed one of its systems and obtained copies of some data between Nov. 21, 2025, and March 5, 2026. Navigate360 said the information involved varies by person and may include names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, phone numbers, email addresses and other sensitive information. The company also provides software to some U.S. schools. It said it has found no evidence that the exposed personal information has been used for fraud or identity theft.

Several Canadian police forces have suspended their use of Crime Stoppers as concerns about the breach grow. Sean Sportun, chair of Toronto Crime Stoppers, said last week that 176,859 tips submitted through the P3 software between January 2022 and November 2025 were affected, including 12,392 that may contain personal information. Navigate360 later provided a separate list containing 14,973 names. Sportun said the list “lacks detail necessary to measure the risk involved” because it did not identify who the names belonged to.

“We never ask for your name, and we don’t want it. But people sometimes include details to explain what they saw,” Sportun said. He said the organization’s practice is to remove those details before a tip goes to investigators. “It has come to light that some of those original tips containing potentially identifying information were stolen from P3.” Toronto Crime Stoppers continues to press Navigate360 for more details.

Navigate360 said it remains committed to protecting the privacy and security of information under its control. The company said it immediately introduced mitigation measures after discovering the incident, promptly added and strengthened safeguards, and enlisted a leading cybersecurity firm to improve the security of its network, systems and data. It also said it launched a comprehensive investigation, identified people who may have been affected, reported the incident to law enforcement and notified regulators.

Sean Sparling, a former deputy chief of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service, previously told Global News that officers across Canada use Crime Stoppers “on a daily basis.” He said he relied on the program for many of his own investigations. Sparling said he fully expects it to recover, citing how well organized and effective it is and its importance to law enforcement and community safety.

Police services that have suspended their use of Crime Stoppers say members of the public can still submit information through regular police-reporting channels, though those methods are not anonymous. Anyone facing an immediate emergency should call 911. “Until we have a safer way to protect you, please do not send us tips by phone, online or through the app,” Sportun said. He said pausing the program means that option is unavailable for now and that the decision was not made lightly: people deserve a system the organization can fully stand behind.