Child welfare agency says it’s victim of sophisticated cyber attack
WINNIPEG – A child welfare agency called the Southern First Nations Network of Care said it has been the victim of a cyber attack.
A spokesperson for the agency said on Nov. 21 their system was infected with something called ‘ransom ware’ – a type of malware that threatens to release data or lock the data unless a ransom is paid.
“What we’ve been told from the people who are looking at it from an IT perspective is it’s a sophisticated cyber-attack,” said the spokesperson.
The spokesperson said the system is unusable.
The agency oversees 10 Child Family Services agencies that represent 36 Southern First Nations in Manitoba. The spokesperson said the files for eight of these agencies have been compromised.
Manitoba RCMP said it is aware of the incident and the Integrated Technological Crime unit is investigating.
The Southern First Nations Network of Care is expected to release more information about the attack this afternoon.
Gloss