Ottawa Public School Board Paid Hackers Ransom After Data Breach – Ottawa | The Canadian News

Ottawa’s French-language public school board says it was the victim of a data breach last month that affected current and former employees, as well as some students and their families.

In a cyber attack on Oct. 18, hackers gained access to the board’s computer network, the Eastern Ontario Public Schools Council (CEPEO) said in a statement Tuesday.

The attack targeted 75 gigabytes of files on a server at CEPEO’s headquarters. He had personal information on current and former employees dating back to the year 2000.

That includes social security numbers, bank account details, credit card numbers and dates of birth, CEPEO said.

The board also said that a small number of current students, alumni and their families were affected.

The hackers were paid a ransom to delete the data, but CEPEO said there is no way to confirm whether the attackers actually disposed of the files.

Global News has reached out to CEPEO to ask how much was paid on the exchange.

CEPEO is trying to reach the affected people and says it will provide them with a free credit monitoring service for a period of 24 months.

Meanwhile, the board said steps have been taken to secure its network as a result of the incident. You have conducted a full investigation over the past month and a half to determine the extent of the violation.

Law enforcement and the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner were notified.

CEPEO has set up a website with additional information for those who may be affected.

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