B.C.含羞草研究社檚 Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth Thursday (May 9) assured British Columbians that a series of 含羞草研究社渟ophisticated含羞草研究社� cybersecurity incidents involving government networks have not compromised sensitive information.

But he also said police are among the agencies investigating the incidents, whose instigator remains unknown.

含羞草研究社淚 can tell you that at this time, there is no evidence of any sensitive information such as health records, for example, either being accessed or compromised,含羞草研究社� Farnworth said, adding that later these incidents were not a ransom-ware attack.

He added that Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and 含羞草研究社渙ther agencies including police含羞草研究社� have been involved.

Farnworth made these comments Thursday morning, hours after Premier David Eby had issued a statement Wednesday evening announcing that recently, 含羞草研究社渢he Government of B.C. has identified sophisticated cybersecurity incidents involving government networks.含羞草研究社�

When asked what 含羞草研究社渞ecently含羞草研究社� meant, Farnworth said that he could not be more specific, but promised additional information at a later date.

含羞草研究社淲hat I can tell you that this was a very sophisticated attempt and we have been told by the security experts that the money that was spent in 2022 in terms of upgrades to the system had not taken place, we would not have even known that the attempt was happening,含羞草研究社� Farnworth said.

Several key questions, however, remain unanswered. They include any possible connection to cyberattacks currently happening in Europe and the possible involvement of foreign actors.

含羞草研究社淭here is no information on any of that,含羞草研究社� Farnworth said. 含羞草研究社淭hat含羞草研究社檚 what the investigation obviously would involve.含羞草研究社�

In late April, the Office of the Chief Information Officer started asking all provincial government employees to change passwords to protect emails and networks.

When reporters on May 2 asked Eby about OCIO含羞草研究社檚 direction, he confirmed it without offering any additional details.

含羞草研究社淭hat含羞草研究社檚 all I can share at this stage, but they are doing some work on this issue, and I expect to have more to say soon.含羞草研究社�

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That moment came on May 8 with his statement. But its timing prompted questions from the political opposition during Question Period Thursday (May 9).

B.C. United含羞草研究社檚 House Leader Todd Stone asked why this cyberattack 含羞草研究社渨as concealed含羞草研究社� for eight days, 含羞草研究社渙nly for the Premier to issue a quiet statement while everyone was busy watching last night含羞草研究社檚 Canucks game.含羞草研究社�

Farnworth said government hid nothing.

含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檓 trying to tell (Stone) that when an incident like this happens, the first thing that happens is the protection of the system, the protection of the information,含羞草研究社� Farnworth said. 含羞草研究社淭hat含羞草研究社檚 done by technical experts, who work on the advice of the (Canadian Centre for Cyber Security). The reason they do that, is because if you go out and give information before that含羞草研究社檚 done, you actually end up compromising people含羞草研究社檚 information, potentially.含羞草研究社�

Farnworth had told reporters earlier that the 含羞草研究社渇irst priority is to ensure the integrity of the system to protect system, protect the information.含羞草研究社�

B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon picked up Stone含羞草研究社檚 criticism during his media availability. While nobody should be surprised that government has suffered a cyberattack, Falcon said government has not shown enough transparency.

含羞草研究社淚t builds trust and, unfortunately, the approach they are taking betrays trust.含羞草研究社�

One question concerns any connection between the attack on government含羞草研究社檚 network and the cybersecurity incident that had shuttered more than 80 London Drugs locations across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and B.C.

含羞草研究社淭o the best of my knowledge, it has no connection to the London Drug incident,含羞草研究社� Eby said on May 2.

Farnworth echoed this comment Thursday.

含羞草研究社淥bviously, there is a thorough investigation involving a number of agencies underway, but we don含羞草研究社檛 have any information at this point as to whether or not it was related to what happened.含羞草研究社�

Government said it fends off 1.5 billion unauthorized access attempts to its systems every day, adding that the threat is growing in size and complexity.

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security said in a statement that it is aware of what it calls a 含羞草研究社渃yber incident affecting the Government of British Columbia含羞草研究社� but declined to give additional details.

含羞草研究社淭he Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, part of the Communications Security Establishment Canada, generally does not comment on specific cyber security incidents,含羞草研究社� it reads. 含羞草研究社淗owever, we can say that we are working with officials in British Columbia to support their efforts to mitigate the incident.含羞草研究社�

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