Cyberattack leaves Université de Moncton website offline 10 days later
Across the Université de Moncton campus in Moncton, N.B., it’s business as usual, but online, things have come to a halt.
“About 10 days ago our systems detected a cyber incident, so we’ve took down our website and we’re trying to regroup and analyze what happened,” said Gabriel Cormier, vice-president of administration and human resources at the university.
On Oct. 14, the school’s Cyber Intrusion Detection system flagged a problem.
Cormier says there’s no indication that any personal or sensitive data has been affected, but the website has been offline ever since.
“Some of the employees, we have forms that they use that are part of the website, things like that, but the course, descriptions and everything else has been offline. So, registration for the winter term is coming up, so students need access to that,” he said.
As for when the website might be fully back up and running, Cormier says he can’t give an exact timeline since the investigation is ongoing.
The school has brought in an outside company to investigate the incident.
He says the goal is to restore the website as soon as possible.
“We are upgrading our security systems and trying best practices and everything else, we have outside council as well to help us with that,” said Cormier.
“Restoring the website will not be exactly as it was before, so we’re moving forward on that.”
Scott Beck, CEO of Becktek – a cyber security and IT support for businesses – says this is unlikely to leave the university any more vulnerable in the future.
“What we have to understand is for cyber criminals, it’s a business and they’re writing code to go out and beat on all the doors around the internet and they really don’t care who they get, they just want to see where they can get and how they can monetize it,” he said.
Overall, he says cyber crimes have seen exponential growth year over year.
“About 15 per cent of the world’s GDP, so that’s like 15 per cent of the world economy, is based around cyber crime,” he said.
“We’re talking billions of dollars and it’s very high reward, very low risk because there’s only about 0.5 to one per cent of cyber criminals that ever get caught.”
Beck points out that cyber gangs usually find a specific niche and will continue to target the same type of business or area repeatedly.
“Here’s the sad part, every person, every business at sometime, somewhere is going to be impacted,” he said.
“A lot of us have been impacted and don’t even know it yet because these websites are storing our username and passwords and from human behaviour, we tend to use the same across a lot of places.”
While the Université de Moncton says only their website has been affected, Beck says it’s good practice for everyone to use different passwords for different sites and change them, especially if you think they’ve been compromised.
For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'The mom is shattered': Body of employee who died at Halifax Walmart was found by her mother
The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.
'Horrific': Four people dead after Tesla slams into pillar and catches fire on Lake Shore Boulevard in Toronto
Four people are dead and another is in hospital after a Tesla driving through downtown Toronto at a high rate of speed crashed into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar on Lake Shore Boulevard.
Prosecutor recommends parole for Menendez brothers in 1989 murder of parents
A Los Angeles prosecutor said on Thursday he would ask a judge to release Erik and Lyle Menendez on parole after nearly 35 years in prison for the shotgun murder of their parents, as new evidence emerged indicating they were sexually abused by their father for years.
'Never said I was going to close the door on politics forever': Christy Clark on interest in federal leadership run
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces growing pressure from within his own caucus to step aside, former B.C. premier Christy Clark says she is open to returning to politics.
Former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model says Trump groped her to show off for Jeffrey Epstein
A former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model is alleging that former President Donald Trump groped her in the 1990s, in what she believes was an attempt to show off for Jeffrey Epstein.
2 suspects arrested after 4 teens stabbed outside Montreal high school
Montreal police say four teenagers suffered stab wounds after an altercation near John F. Kennedy High School in the city's Villeray—Saint-Michel—Parc-Extension borough on Thursday.
More straight couples are calling each other partner. Here's why
Within a year of dating, 31-year-old Siara Rouzer crossed a major relationship milestone. The guy she was seeing was no longer a boyfriend but her partner.
Trudeau announces massive drop in immigration targets as Liberals make major pivot
The federal government is slashing immigration targets to levels that will flatten population growth as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admits the government did not get the balance right after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Police identify woman stabbed to death in park in Ottawa's south end
The Ottawa Police Service has identified the woman who was stabbed to death at Paul Landry Park on Uplands Drive Thursday morning.