Rideau Hall confirms there has been a “breach” of the internal networks at the office that supports the work of the governor general — but the potential impact is so far unclear.
In a statement issued Thursday morning, the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General said there had been “an unauthorized access to its internal network.”
“The OSGG is working with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security on the investigation and took immediate action to strengthen its network,” the office said in the statement.
“While the nature and the scope of the breach are still under investigation, the OSGG is continuing its work with experts and pursuing further network improvements as needed. In addition, the OSGG has been in communication with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in response to this incident.”
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Whether the breach involved ransomware is unclear, as are questions of when it took place, how many people might be impacted, and what kind of information was accessed.
Security officials did not answer questions about the incident.
A spokesperson for the Communications Security Establishment and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security pointed to a statement issued in tandem with the one from Rideau Hall, noting: “This is all we are permitted to say regarding this incident.”
That statement from the Centre confirmed the incident was “recent” but offered no further details.
More to come.