General Electric is facing consequences of a data breach which happened due to a third party that accessed an email account comprising confidential documents and could stay connected to Canon Business Process Services account during 10 days. The IT service management company operates on behalf of General Electric.

From 3 till 14 February the email account was misused by the contractor, but the electronic giant’s system remained unaffected.

The violators could obtain the documents belonging to the company’s current and former employees as well as beneficiaries who are assisted via Canon’s systems.

The vulnerable information which got compromised includes personal data, such as passports, driver’s licenses, birth and marriage certificates, tax forms, medical details, direct deposit forms, which was uploaded by employees and ex-employees. The posted documents might have incorporated social security numbers and bank account numbers as well.

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The investigation is ongoing, all the affected will be granted one free credit report annually from 3 consumer reporting agencies as well as identity protection and credit monitoring receiving a 2-year package from Experian.