An internal memo sent to staff Wednesday and verified by CTV News revealed that data had been stolen in the incident first brought to the council’s attention a week ago. The board declined CTV News’ request for an interview, but provided an emailed statement confirming it was “the latest target of cyber incidents.” WRDSB communications manager Estefania Brandenstein said it could take weeks to fully investigate what happened and what has been affected. “We intend to do everything in our power to resolve this issue,” Brandenstein said in the email.
DATA CHAIR
In an internal email sent to staff on Wednesday, the board said it was “managing the incident since it first came to our attention on July 10.” “We have confirmed that data was stolen and are working to determine the exact contents of that data,” the board’s email to staff said in part. The board said it would provide staff with a year’s free credit monitoring – a service that alerts people to unusual banking activity. The school board also said it is retaining special consultants as they work to restore services. “We want to assure you that this is an isolated incident and we will rectify the situation,” the board wrote to staff. In a separate email sent to students and their families on Wednesday, the board said it has “now confirmed that an unauthorized person accessed and removed certain data from our systems.” He went on, in part, to say he believes the risk to sensitive student information is low.
QUESTIONS REMAIN
In a statement to CTV News, the board said it has shared information about the incidents with staff, students and their families and will continue to communicate directly with those affected. “This is serious and concerning, and unfortunately, cyber incidents happen more often in the education sector,” Brandenstien said. The council did not respond to any of CTV’s questions about which services have been affected as a result of the “cyber incidents”.
