First Nations Health Authority in B.C. investigating cybersecurity incident

The First Nations Health Authority in B.C. is investigating after being hit by a cybersecurity attack.

The health authority, which bills itself as the first and only provincial one of its kind in Canada, says it became aware on May 13 of “unusual activity” on its corporate network.

It says an “unauthorize entity” was intercepted after gaining access to the network.

The health authority says there’s evidence that certain employee information and limited personal information of others was affected.

However, it says there’s no evidence the attack affected any clinical information systems it uses.

The cyberattack is the latest in a series of recent incidents in B.C., though the health authority says there’s no indication of any connection.

It says law enforcement and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia have been notified.

Premier David Eby said earlier in the month that the province had identified “sophisticated cybersecurity incidents” involving government networks.

In other recent cases, hackers targeting B.C. libraries tried to hold user information for ransom, while retailer London Drugs shut down all of its stores in Western Canada for more than a week to deal with a cybersecurity breach.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2024.

The Canadian Press