Oak Bay website server hacked, users asked to check bank accounts,

The District of Oak Bay is warning residents to monitor their bank accounts after the municipality’s online servers were hacked.

The municipality said its oakbay.ca website was attacked on July 22.

A preliminary review has not found any evidence that personal information had been compromised, but residents who use Oak Bay’s pre-authorized withdrawal system to pre-pay taxes are being urged to contact their banks for advice.

The computer systems used do not store social insurance numbers, driver’s licence numbers, or credit or debit card numbers, but do contain the bank account numbers, as well as names and addresses, of about 1,500 residents.

A letter posted to the district’s website said residents using the My District system for tax, utility, bylaw notices and dog and business licence information need to reset their passwords and security questions.

Oak Bay is investigating the lag between when the system was hacked and the notice being released Friday.

“There was a delay here, I don’t know the reason and I’ve asked for an investigative report from our chief administrative officer to find out why there was a delay,” said Mayor Nils Jensen.

Five other municipalities — West Vancouver, Abbotsford, Port Moody, Maple Ridge and Whistler — had their sites hacked around the same time.

The Oak Bay server was replaced July 23. An independent security consultant is investigating the breach.

“We take this very seriously and will move forward to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Jensen said.