TORONTO – The Ontario Cannabis Retailer says a data breach involving a few of its sales data is being investigated by the Ontario Provincial Police.

Daffyd Roderick, a spokesperson for the Crown company chargeable for distributing cannabis from producers to pot outlets within the province, confirmed what he referred to as a misappropriation of data Tuesday night.

“There was no failure of IT safety or programs,” he added.

An OCS letter obtained by The Canadian Press and despatched to retailers on Could 10 mentioned that “confidential retailer sales data” was being “circulated within the trade.”

“This data was not disclosed by the OCS, nor have we offered any permission or consent to distribute or use this data outdoors of our group,” reads the letter signed by Janet Ihm, the OCS vice-president of wholesale partnerships and buyer care.

“The data was misappropriated, disclosed, and distributed unlawfully. In consequence, we belief you’ll chorus from sharing or utilizing this stolen data in any means.”

Within the wake of the breach, the OCS mentioned it rapidly launched an investigation to establish the supply, restricted entry to inside data studies and notified the police, who it says will assessment and examine the misuse of the data.

The OPP didn’t instantly verify whether or not an investigation had begun.

The federal privateness commissioner, which all breaches should be reported to, didn’t reply to a request for remark.

The appropriation comes because the cannabis trade is dealing with rising competitors and sales pressures because the variety of pot outlets in Ontario has swelled to 1,333, up from 1,115 on the finish of September.

In the meantime, most main pot producers have but to report a revenue and lots of have spent the previous few years slashing costs to take care of the nonetheless widespread illicit market.

The OCS has additionally encountered some challenges too.

In December, Ontario’s auditor common mentioned in her annual report that many cannabis merchandise are sometimes out of inventory as a result of the OCS inaccurately forecasts stock ranges. These inaccurate forecasts go away prospects empty-handed and licensed producers annoyed, the report mentioned.

On the time, the OCS mentioned that work was underway to make use of point-of-sale expertise to automate extra of the sales reporting, which might enhance stock administration and forecasting.

The OCS has additionally confronted a breach earlier than. Nearly 4 years in the past, the OCS revealed data linked to about 4,500 of its prospects was a part of a Canada Submit data breach.

The Nov. 1, 2018 breach was linked to somebody accessing data, together with names individuals who signed for pot deliveries, OCS reference numbers and postal codes, by means of a Canada Submit monitoring software. The OCS mentioned these affected made up about two per cent of buyer orders.

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