Municipal officials in Wabasca are worried someone may have accessed sensitive information from the MD of Opportunity 17, a collection of hamlets in a remote area of central northern Alberta.
Staff noticed “some problematic-looking activity” on Aug. 18. The municipality said its IT personnel worked on the issue for two full days but still “had some trouble keeping the doors closed.” On Aug. 22, they felt they no longer had control of the situation and disconnected everything.
The RCMP and the Privacy Commissioner have been notified. The municipality has a population of about 3,400.
“The MD has recently experienced some unusual activities involving its network and suspects that its network and server have been compromised,” a news release explained.
“Although the MD has not yet been able to determine what information was accessed and the full extent of the compromise, it is the MD’s belief that this individual(s) had access to sensitive personal information and financial information of its employees, utility account holders and ratepayers.”
The type of information that might be affected by this potential hack would depend on different groups’ dealings with the municipality, but could include social insurance numbers, credit card numbers and payroll bank deposit account numbers.
“The MD has also taken steps to isolate the unauthorized access and to rectify the breach of its network and server,” the news release stated.
The MD stressed it’s still unknown whether anything was actually accessed.
It also apologized for the incident and the inconvenience it may cause.
The MD also offered tips to those concerned their personal or financial information may have been compromised:
- Equifax Canada Inc. (credit reporting/identity theft) can be reached at 1-800-465-7166
- TransUnion of Canada Inc. (credit reporting/identity theft) can be reached at 1-800-663-9980
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre can be reached at 1-888-495-8501
- Employment and Social Development Canada (SIN concerns) can be reached at 1-800-206-7218
- The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (to file a complaint) can be reached at 1-888-878-4044
More information is posted on the MD of Opportunity #17 Emergency Services’ Facebook page.
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