Last Friday, the federal government issued a statement warning the public that a ransomware attack had occurred to a private company – one that serves both Canadians and international clients, as well as several government agencies.
The March 19 statement from the government said that on March 14, it became “aware of a possible ransomware attack on a private company that provides services to international and Canadian clients, including to some federal departments and agencies.” The private company’s identity was not disclosed in the statement.
The government also gave assurances that “no cyber threat has been directed at the Government of Canada, nor its information technology infrastructure.”
It was confirmed by the government that as of March 19, there was no indication that there had been any “unauthorized disclosure” of any personal information of Canadians handled by the company.
In response to the potential ransomware attack, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is coordinating with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and other departments and agencies to monitor the situation and assess the impact of the attack, the federal release explained.
The federal government also said that it would inform the public of further developments as they come, and that should any “unauthorized disclosure” related to the cyberattack be discovered, it would reach out to those who have been impacted, as well as privacy and law enforcement authorities.
Ottawa has encouraged citizens to report any cyber threat activity they find to either local law enforcement or the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security.
