Cyberattack shuts down Canada Revenue Agency accounts
According to the Office of the Chief Information Officer some 5,500 Canada Revenue Agency accounts were targeted
The Office of the Chief Information Officer is reporting a cyberattack on Canada Revenue Agency accounts.
Some 30 federal departments use GCKey service accounts. There are some 12 million active accounts used by Canadians.
They provide access to everything from information on the federal child benefit to employment insurance and immigration, refugee and citizenship claims.
A statement released by the office on Saturday says the attack tried to hack into some 5,500 Canada Revenue Agency accounts. About one-third of the accounts were “accessed.”
The statement says the owners of accounts affected have been notified. And their accounts disabled. But it’s unclear if any breaches of privacy took place. The RCMP is still investigating.
According to the statement, the usernames and passwords of some 9,400 Canadians collected from previous attacks were used in the latest attack.
“The Government of Canada deals with ongoing and persistent cyber risks and threats,” the statement says.
The office is advising that Canadians use a unique password for all online accounts.
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