HEADINGLEY, Man. — An Indigenous child welfare authority in Manitoba has called in the RCMP after being hit by a cyberattack that’s corrupted its computer files and potentially compromised the privacy of its clients.
Southern First Nations Network of Care spokesman Jim Compton said the organization’s IT department has been trying to restore service since its computers shut down on Thursday.
“It’s something called ransomware and it’s encrypted our files so that they’re unusable,” Compton said in an interview Sunday. “Our IT department was looking into it and after a few days of trying to get it up, this is what they tell us.”
RCMP confirmed their Integrated Technological Crime Unit has been made aware of the incident and is investigating.
Southern First Nations Network of Care is one of four authorities in Manitoba that manages child and family services. It represents 10 different agencies, although Compton has said the cyberattack has not affected all of them.
On Sunday, Compton said they weren’t able to connect to the internet at the authority’s office, and staff were trying to figure out how to provide services this week.
“There is a contingency plan that will basically have to set up shop somewhere in a boardroom and do it from there. At this point it would probably have to be manual for a lot of the claimants, the foster families, etc.,” Compton said.
The Manitoba government said in a news release that it has offered technical support and other resources to the authority and other partners in child welfare, as needed.
The province, which the release said was advised of the issue late Friday, is also limiting remote access to its computer systems to ensure s ..
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