Canada Revenue Agency locks out over 800,000 online accounts after being compromised

For the second time in less than a month, tens of thousands of Canadians cannot access their Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) accounts. The tax agency has locked more than 800,000 accounts after login information and passwords may have been obtained by unauthorized individuals. The account lockdown also comes just ahead of the impending tax season in Canada, with the CRA’s filing deadline this year set at April 30 for most people and later in the summer for the self-employed. Canadians were not amused after trying to access their online profiles, but were instead notified that their account was locked — with some even adding that it took them a two hour phone call to regain access. In a Facebook post Saturday, the CRA addressed the lockdown and said that the user IDs and passwords affected “were not involved in a breach of CRA’s systems, but may be available to unauthorized third parties through sources external to the CRA.” Our Chief Political Correspondent David Akin has more.