British Columbia in Canada was recently hit by a cyber attack, allegedly orchestrated by state-supported hackers. The hackers managed to breach the government systems, accessing 22 mailboxes that contained sensitive information about 19 individuals. The attack was first reported on June 5 by the Minister of Public Safety, Mike Farnworth.
Mike Farnworth stated that there is currently no evidence to suggest that the compromised information has been misused. While the exact ministry targeted by the hackers was not disclosed, Farnworth confirmed that the attack did not impact the Cabinet of Ministers.
The hackers, suspected to be government-backed, made three attempts to breach the systems. Farnworth revealed that the hackers successfully infiltrated the mailboxes of employees, with one exception – an employee whose mailbox contained personal family information. All affected individuals have been notified and are being offered support such as credit monitoring and digital identity protection.
The sophisticated nature of the cyber attacks has led investigators to believe that they were likely carried out by a state actor or an organization supported by a foreign state. As of now, the identity of the country behind the attack remains unknown.