“Sophisticated” cyberattacks involving government networks in British Columbia have been found

British Columbia’s premier said Wednesday that the government has recently identified “complex cybersecurity incidents” involving government networks.

In a statement, Premier David Eby said the provincial government is working with the Canadian Center for Cyber ​​Security to find out the extent of cyberattacks and implement security measures.

Eby said there was no evidence as of Wednesday that any sensitive information was compromised in the attack.

“However, the investigation is ongoing and we need to do more to determine what information may have been accessed,” he said.

Eby did not provide any information about which systems were specifically affected by the cyber attack or how much data was affected.

His statement added that the government had informed the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, British Columbia’s data protection regulator, of the cyberattack.

“I know the public will have many questions about these incidents and we will be as transparent as possible without compromising the investigation,” he said. “As this complex work progresses, (the) government will provide British Columbians with updates and information as much as possible.”

Workers were asked to change their passwords

Eby said last week that the province’s chief information officer had instructed public sector employees to change their passwords to “ensure the security of government email systems.”

Government officials also received an email late Wednesday from Shannon Salter, deputy minister to the prime minister and head of the civil service, informing them of the incidents.

“As work continues to investigate these incidents, please change your password from 10 to 14 characters as requested and respond promptly to any other instructions to improve security,” said the email, obtained by The Canadian Press has.

Eby said to his knowledge the required password changes were unrelated to a cybersecurity incident last week at London Drugs, the pharmacy and retail chain based in Richmond, B.C

London Drugs closed its doors across Western Canada for a week in response to a cyberattack.

In an interview with CBC News, London Drugs CEO Clint Mahlman was tight-lipped about what happened during the incident, saying it would put the company at further risk.

The BC Libraries Co-operative said last week that it had also been targeted by a hacker who threatened to release user data if a ransom wasn’t paid.

Renee Merrifield, innovation and technology critic for the opposition BC United party, told CBC News that Wednesday’s government statement was “pretty alarming” because it didn’t contain much information about the cyberattack.

“When you think about the government and all of the various private information of its citizens that it holds, this actual cyber breach could be far larger and far worse than what London Drugs experienced,” she said.

“This cyber breach could have massive and far-reaching consequences,” she added. “And instead of being immediately open and transparent, we get this … press release that doesn’t reassure anyone at this point.”

Eby’s statement on Wednesday said protecting data and networks is a top priority for his administration.

“Cybersecurity threats are a constant reality of the modern world and are only increasing,” he said.