The work has not stopped for I T technicians with the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board, which is investigating a cyber incident that first came to their attention in mid-December.
Danny Viotto, the director of education says the board was first made aware of the invasion December 15th where several significant files were stolen from the board’s server.
He says the perpetrators have since deleted the files, but the board is continuing to work on analyzing the files that were affected.
He says some of those files affect employees from the last four tax years, 2019 to 2022 and included personal information including social insurance numbers and banking information.
Viotto adds the employees will be notified in writing within the next few weeks adding it could take months to complete the analysis.
Given the nature of the information exposed and in an attempt to give peace of mind the board will be providing these employees with an offer for a free two-year credit monitoring service that allows one to check for signs of identity fraud so protective action can be taken, adds Viotto.
“We understand that some students and parents will likely be affected by the incident, though it will take the Board time to analyze data to determine who is affected and to what extent. We will continue to be transparent and will notify those affected as appropriate and considering our findings. We appreciate that this news may be concerning, and sincerely apologize.
“We have already made improvements to our network security, and once our investigation is complete will respond to the findings in a manner that better protects us from the very significant cyber risks which face school boards across the province today.”