Town of Didsbury Press Release – April 16th:
DIDSBURY – As previously reported, on Sunday, March 21st, 2021, the Town of Didsbury discovered it was the victim of a cyber-attack in which fraudsters encrypted the Town’s information systems with ransomware and made a ransom demand to decrypt those systems.
Restoration of the Town’s systems is almost complete and the Town has successfully minimized the interruption to its operations.
The Town has worked diligently to identify whether information was removed from its systems or inappropriately accessed.
The facts available indicate that the threat actor did not remove a copy of information from the Town’s systems. However, the Town cannot rule out this risk with absolute certainty. The facts available also indicate that between March 19-21, 2021, the threat actor may have had access to files with limited information of a small number of residents (such as name, phone number, address, email address). Since discovery of the incident, the Town has been taking steps to strengthen its defense against the evolving threat of cybersecurity attacks and minimize the risk of future incidents.
The Town encourages all residents and businesses to use recommended strategies for protecting themselves against common scams including the following:
Be suspicious of any email with requests for financial information or money transfers, particularly those that contain ‘urgent’ requests.
Exercise caution before you click on a link or open an attachment, even if the email appears to come from a legitimate source.
Exercise caution with email correspondence or telephone calls that purport to come from your bank or any other organization where you are asked:
– for your credentials (such as username and password) or other confidential information; or
– to allow the caller to remotely control your computer.
Change your passwords frequently, and use different passwords for different accounts that are not easy to guess. Keep your passwords confidential.
Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card statements to ensure all transactions are legitimate.
Refer to available resources on recommended steps to protect yourself such as the following:
https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/information-and-advice-for-individuals/
https://www.oipc.ab.ca
http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cycp-cpcj/is-si/osf-efel-eng.htm
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