Bell (2014 breach) bell.ca Bell Canada 2014 data breach: what happened and what to do
In February 2014, hackers leaked Bell Canada small business account data. Have I Been Pwned counts about 20,900 accounts with usernames, genders, passwords and credit card data.
View all 13,115 breaches- Breach date
- Feb 2014
- Affected
- 20,902
- Data exposed
- Credit cards, Genders, Passwords, Usernames
- Verified
- Yes
- Last updated
Source: Have I Been Pwned (CC BY 4.0)
What happened
In February 2014, a hacker group called NullCrew posted data it said came from Bell Canada. Bell confirmed that small business customers were affected, and said the data came from an Ottawa-based third-party supplier's IT system, not from Bell's own systems. Bell said its residential, mobile and enterprise customers weren't affected.
Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) has this as the Bell (2014 breach) entry. It lists about 20,900 accounts, taken from roughly 40,000 records that held just over 20,000 unique email addresses and usernames. The data includes usernames, genders, passwords and credit card data. HIBP's notes say some of the passwords and card details were unencrypted, which is the part that makes this one worth a second look.
Plain passwords let anyone log in to the Bell account, and anyone who used the same password somewhere else is open to credential stuffing: criminals try a leaked login on banking, email and shopping sites. Card data is a separate risk. A card from 2014 has probably expired or been replaced, but if you still use the same number, treat it as compromised.
Bell's own count differed slightly from HIBP's, because the two count different things (Bell counted affected business accounts). The figures on this page are HIBP's.
If you ran a small business account with Bell in early 2014, the practical steps are about your passwords and your cards, not about Bell. The data can't be pulled back from where it was posted, so the useful work is closing the doors it opens.
What to do if you were in it
- 1
Change reused passwords
Change the password on any account that shared the Bell password, starting with email and banking. Use a different password for every site and turn on two-factor authentication.
- 2
Check the card you used
If the card on your 2014 Bell account is still active, ask your bank to replace it and scan your statements for charges you don't recognize.
- 3
Be wary of business phishing
Small business owners get invoice and supplier scams. If an email references your Bell account or an old order, confirm it through the company's official site or phone number.
- 4
Check whether your email or phone is in this and other breaches
Serus monitors breach databases and the dark web for your email, phone number and passwords, and alerts you when they show up. You can run a free scan at serus.ai. Serus can't remove data from a breach, but it tells you what to change.
Frequently asked
Was I affected by the Bell 2014 breach?
If you held a Bell small business account in early 2014, possibly. Search your email address on Have I Been Pwned, or run a free Serus scan to check it against this and other breaches.
What was exposed?
Have I Been Pwned lists credit cards, genders, passwords and usernames.
Should I change my password?
Yes, if you ever reused that Bell password elsewhere. Change those accounts and use a unique password for each.
Sources
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we'll re-check it.
