The Town of Huntsville may have recently concluded its investigation into the cybersecurity incident discovered on March 10, 2024, but for residents, questions remain.
The ransomware attack impacted the Town’s network and systems. In a media release, Town officials noted that as soon as the incident was detected, the Town immediately enacted its incident response protocol, brought its systems offline to limit exposure, and engaged cybersecurity experts to investigate, as well as legal advice.
The investigation concluded that certain data, including some sensitive personal identifiable information, was impacted by the incident. It sent out letters to individuals whose information was impacted and advised residents to safeguard their data by following the steps recommended on priv.gc.ca.
How much the breach will cost the Town has not yet been determined. “We are still determining the financial impact of the Cyber Event, which will be brought to Council in a report in the coming months,” stated Huntsville CAO Denise Corry via email correspondence.
Doppler also received comments about letters going out to people who no longer live here or have passed away. Doppler inquired about how the municipality’s data is gathered.
“It is important we make every effort to inform affected individuals, or their next of kin. We are sending notifications with the information that we have on file that the individual provided at the time,” added Corry.
More information on the incident can be found at huntsville.ca/cyber. A detailed report is expected in the new year.
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I have spoken with the CAO about this and look forward to seeing the detailed report coming to Council. Many questions remain including: 1) Why wait a year and a half to inform by mail, the 20,000 or so names affected? 2) How were those affected protected, during the year and a half wait to be informed, while those who stole the data had access to this information? 3) What was the total cost, including: a) investigations b) changes to systems c) overtime worked by staff d) hiring of 3rd party firm to give scripted and frankly uninformative information from a U.S. based staff to those affected who called the given phone number e) cost of using Equifax to monitor those affected’s accounts for the next year and what impact has this had on property taxes for taxpayers? (i.e., did our taxes go up an extra 1% because of this issue). 3) Why was Huntsville impacted, and not Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, or Baysville? 4) Has anyone at the town lost their job or been put on a performance plan as a result of this? 5) How does the Town plan on restoring voters’ confidence and trust in this administration following this incident?