[BreachExchange] Ontario nurses’ governing body hit by ransomware attack

[Destry Winant]

https://www.itworldcanada.com/article/ontario-nurses-governing-body-hit-by-ransomware-attack/435884

The College of Nurses of Ontario has acknowledged suffering an
undefined cyber incident after personal information on some of the
province’s nurses was posted online by the Netwalker ransomware gang.

“The College of the Nurses of Ontario (CNO) is in the process of
resuming normal operations following a cybersecurity incident,” the
regulator said in a statement on its website Thursday. “Upon discovery
of the incident on September 8, CNO took immediate steps to contain
the incident and engaged a leading cyber-security firm that is
assisting with remediation and conducting a comprehensive forensic
investigation.”

IT World Canada had no response from the CNO on Sept. 16 when
requesting for comment after learning the college was listed as a
victim on the Netwalker site. The gang also posted a screenshot of
what are apparently file folders — including one called “Human
Resources” — from the college.

Netwalker is a group that copies some corporate data before encrypting
information on a victim’s systems. It then threatens to shame the
victim by releasing sensitive information unless a ransom is paid for
the decryption key.

Ontario has 121,488 registered nurses, 59,967 registered practical
nurses and 3,864 nurse practitioners. As the governing body, the CNO
could have personal information on all nurses including their home
addresses, work addresses and phone numbers. It would therefore be
extremely sensitive about the possible release of personal
information.

The CNO website statement says that until normal operations resume,
the open database allowing the public to find a nurse, the nurse
renewal portal and the portal for membership applications are closed.

CBC News quoted Vicki McKenna, president of the Ontario Nurses
Association (ONA), who represents the registered nurses, as being
surprised by the news. “I’m outraged that I didn’t know as a member of
the college that this had happened,” said McKenna.

“It’s unforgivable to wait to let people know. I think that’s
shameful,” Michael Hurley, the regional vice-president for the
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), who represents registered
practical nurses, told CBC. “Most nurses are women, and in Canadian
society, there’s a significant problem with violence against women.
I’m concerned about who will have access to private information about
these nurses, some of whom have restraining orders against their
partners, or have partners who have expressed an intent to be
violent.”

When IT World Canada began investigating Wednesday, the CNO website
and the organization’s phone line said the college’s office was closed
due to a technical problem.