A recent cyberattack incident which hit a public daycare registration website in Quebec forced several government agencies to pre-emptively shut down their own websites and even discontinue some services out of concern that the hack could also affect them.
The cyberattack on the daycare website led to the personal data of 5,000 parents and children being compromised.
The Canadian Press reported that the daycare’s website was developed by InMedia Technologies, a company based in Montreal. Other notable clients of the software developer include several cities in Canada and France, the Department of National Defence and UNESCO.
The hack has put several provincial government bodies on alert. Last week, Quebec’s Treasury Board Secretariat issued a recommendation urging all agencies using software developed by InMedia Technologies to immediately suspend access – especially if they store sensitive information using the software.
At least one agency has closed following the recommendation – the Bibliotheque et Archives nationales du Quebec has temporarily shut down its computer systems. The library will be closed until Tuesday this week, and some of its online services have been disabled as a precaution.
The Canadian Press reached out to the Treasury Board to identify which online government services have been closed as a result of the recommendation, but the agency declined to comment. The news portal also reached out to InMedia Technologies, but the company did not immediately respond to the request.
