County Issues Notifications on Cyber Security Incident

May 13, 2022
For Immediate Release

Central Elgin, ON – In recent weeks, the County of Elgin discovered that a cybersecurity incident impacted its network.

On discovering the situation, the County of Elgin immediately activated its IT security protocols to contain the threat, shut down access to its systems, reported the incident to relevant authorities including law enforcement and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, and retained external legal counsel as well as cybersecurity forensic experts to conduct a
comprehensive investigation and to strengthen its systems.

The County of Elgin was recently able to confirm that some personal information had been accessed and exfiltrated. At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that personal information was used to commit fraud or identity theft as a result of this incident.

Based on the investigation to date and the proactive efforts undertaken to manage the situation, the County of Elgin is confident that the incident has now been successfully contained and remediation processes are well underway.
For individuals impacted by a breach of sensitive personal information, credit monitoring and identity theft protection will be provided. As of today, May 13, 2022, the County of Elgin sent letters by Canada Post to impacted individuals.

“We take the protection of personal information very seriously. We are working tirelessly to manage this situation in a diligent and responsible way and apologize for any inconvenience or concern this incident may cause for impacted individuals. We are committed to providing timely and transparent communications,” said Julie Gonyou, Chief Administrative Officer of the County
of Elgin.

If you believe you have been the victim of identity theft or have reason to believe your information is being misused, the County of Elgin urges you to immediately contact law enforcement and file a report. It is also recommended to report details to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre collects information on fraud, identity theft, and scams affecting Canadians. The County of Elgin will take several additional security measures to strengthen its systems and a FAQ including best practices to prevent fraud or identity theft has been posted on our website.

County representatives remain available should anyone impacted individuals wish to receive more information about the notifications they receive. For any questions, please reach out to privacy@elgin.ca or visit our website: https://www.elgincounty.ca/services/privacy-information/.

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For additional information about this press release, please contact:

Julie Gonyou, Chief Administrative Officer
County of Elgin
cao@elgin.ca