Manitoba’s auditor general says a rural municipality failed to properly investigate a cyber attack that resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Tyson Shtykalo investigated the cybersecurity breach that led to the Municipality of Westlake-Gladstone, west of Winnipeg, losing more than $472,000 over the course of a few weeks in 2019 and 2020.
His 34-page report says once municipal officials found out about the attack, they did not investigate how individuals had gained access to municipal bank accounts.
The report says because an investigation wasn’t launched, the municipality missed a critical opportunity to understand what happened and how to prevent future breaches.
It also looked into allegations of wrongdoing at six municipalities involving government purchasing protocols, claims for ineligible expenses and improper governance practices.
The auditor recommends that the provincial government ensure municipalities have proper cybersecurity training and tools, more oversight in issuing grants, and more checks and balances when reviewing a municipality’s financials.