Cybersecurity breach at Calgary Public Library forces closure of locations across the city - Action News
Home WebMail Tuesday, November 26, 2024, 01:09 PM | Calgary | -8.3°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Calgary

Cybersecurity breach at Calgary Public Library forces closure of locations across the city

All Calgary Public Library locationsclosed early on Friday aftera cybersecurity breachcompromised some systems, according to aspokesperson.

All libraries shuttered as of 5 p.m. Friday

Steps leading into the main branch of the Calgary Public Library. Sign for library on wall behind.
All Calgary Public Library locations shut down Friday due to a cybersecurity breach. (Tahirih Foroozan/CBC)

All Calgary Public Library locations closed early on Friday after a cybersecurity breach compromised some systems, according to a spokesperson.

All locations wereshut down as of5 p.m.

The library says the closures are a proactive measure to mitigatethe potential impact. All servers and computer access will also be shut off in addition to the closureof library locations.

"Data security is a key priority for the library and our security team is working diligently to determine the scope of the breach," a library spokespersonsaid in a release.

"We will provide timely updates of the library's closures as more information becomes available."

Watch for phishing emails, warns expert

John Zabiuk, who teaches IT security at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton, told CBC News cybersecurity breaches usually involve personal information being leaked to hackers.

In the case of the Calgary Public Library, Zabiuk says if the information of library users has been compromised, they can be at risk of further cyber attacks.

"Typically that information can be used or sold on the dark web for various means, even creatingfalse identities," he said.

A man sits in a computer room.
John Zabiuk, chair of NAIT's cybersecurity program, said there are many ways bad actors can access others' bank accounts and personal information. (Madeleine Cummings/CBC)

Zabiuksaysthe library itself could also lose theability to provideservices,depending on whichsystems were compromised. It's not uncommon forhackers go after financial information in hacks such as this one, he said.

"Typically, most of these attacks start with a phishing email," Zabiuk said. "[Hackers] are going to send out a phishing email to as many targets as they can and whichever one responds, that's the target they're going after."

It's unclear how the library'scybersecurity was breached, but Zabiuk said it's likely a phishing scheme has already played a role.

LISTEN |What companies can do to get the upper hand:
London Drugs is the latest Canadian company to get hitby an international gang of cyber criminals. It's not paying the ransomware demands.And now the hacker gang is releasing the stolen data on the Dark Web. Paul Haavardsrud talks to cybersecurity expert Kim Zetter about whether the good guys will ever get the upper hand on the hackers.