Toronto Crime Stoppers pauses tips after cyber breach affects 176K submissions

Toronto Crime Stoppers has paused tip intake after a cybersecurity breach potentially exposed identifying information included in some submissions.

The organization is asking people not to submit tips while work happens to establish safer reporting options. Anyone facing an immediate emergency should call 911.

Chair Sean Sportun said Wednesday that 176,859 Toronto Crime Stoppers tips were affected by a breach involving its software provider. The organization was given a list of nearly 15,000 names that were found in the breach.

“Until we have a safer way to protect you, please do not send us tips by phone, online or through the app,” he said in a statement.

“Pausing our program means that option isn’t available now, and we did not make this decision lightly. We are pausing because those people deserve a system we can fully stand behind.”

In March, hackers stole data from P3 – the tip software Toronto Crime Stoppers has used since 2018, Sportun said.

Navigate360, which provides the P3 platform, “repeatedly” assured Toronto Crime Stoppers  the system was secure, Sportun said. A month after the attack, the provider said some Canadian data had been stolen but that Toronto submissions were not affected, he added.

Sportun said the organization was told in June tips submitted to the platform from January 2022 and November 2025 were affected. A month later, it pegged the figure at 176,859, adding 12,392 of them may contain personal information.

“We never ask for your name, and we don’t want it. But people sometimes include details to explain what they saw,” Sportun said.

“Before a tip goes to investigators, our practice is to remove those details. It has come to light that some of those original tips containing potentially identifying information were stolen from P3.”

In September and October, Navigate360 gave Toronto Crime Stoppers a list of 14,973 names found in the breach. However, Sportun said the list “lacks detail necessary to measure the risk involved” because it did not identify who the names belong to.

Navigate360 did not immediately return Global News’ request for comment.

“Despite numerous requests through our legal counsel, Navigate360 has not provided us with the text of the stolen tips, so we cannot see what each one says,” Sportun said.

He added “anonymously sourced information” on the breach being reported this week hasn’t been shared with Toronto Crime Stoppers. An investigation by CBC published Wednesday reported that more than 1.5 million Canadian Crime Stoppers tips were affected.

Toronto police said Wednesday the service is temporarily suspending its use of Crime Stoppers while it assesses new safeguards and other measures.

Police said members of the public can submit information through existing police reporting channels. Those methods are not anonymous, but the information will go directly to investigators, it added.

Sportun said Toronto Crime Stoppers has removed the “Tip Submit” feature from its website, has advised Navigate360 to suspend the intake function for the organization on its platform and has asked the National Anonymous Call Centre to stop processing new information intended for Toronto Crime Stoppers.

The organization continues to press Navigate360 for the text of the stolen tips, he added.

“We know waiting is hard, especially for anyone worried about their safety,” Sportun said.

“We will keep pressing for answers, and we will share what we learn as soon as we can.”