Northern Alberta residents, workers warned of suspected computer breach

A northern Alberta municipality is warning residents and employees that their personal and financial information could be at risk after a suspected hack of its computer system.

The Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 — comprising the communities of Wabasca, Red Earth and Calling Lake — said recent unusual activities on its network indicate the municipality’s network and server have been compromised.

It’s not yet known what information was accessed and the full extent of the breach, but officials suspect it included access to the data of employees, utility account holders and ratepayers.

“Given the potential extent of the compromise of its network and server, the MD is concerned that all of the MD’s files may have been accessed,” the municipality said in a statement.

Information at risk includes names, contact information, payroll bank deposit account numbers, social insurance numbers, bank withdrawal numbers, credit card numbers and other financial information.

“The municipality wishes to express our deepest apologies regarding this most unfortunate incident and any inconvenience that this may have caused,” the statement said.

The incident has been reported to local RCMP and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, the MD said. People with questions about the breach can contact Deborah Juch- at the MD at 780-891-0511.

People concerned about their information are asked to contact major credit reporting agencies such as Equifax Canada Inc. (1800-465-7166) or TransUnion of Canada Inc. (1-800-663-9980), the MD said. Both companies have procedures to deal with identity theft and can put a warning in your file. For social insurance number concerns, contact Employment and Social Development Canada at 1-800-206-7218, option 3, the MD said.