The case of an Ottawa man charged with accessing the personal information of Prime Minister Mark Carney while working at RBC underscores the growing reality faced by many Canadians whose sensitive data is being targeted by organized criminals, experts say.

Experts say those criminal efforts also raise national security concerns that require greater oversight and co-operation between law enforcement agencies across Canada.

“This story makes news because it’s the prime minister, but Canadians are dealing with this every day,” said Christian Leuprecht, a professor at Queen’s University and the Royal Military College who studies national security and intelligence matters.

The RCMP said Wednesday that Ibrahim El-Hakim, 23, is accused of accessing “several” bank profiles without authori

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