The First Nations Health Authority, which delivers health programs and benefits to First Nations people in British Columbia, said it detected unusual activity on its corporate network on May 13, 2024 and confirmed the intrusion publicly on May 22.
The authority said countermeasures deployed during the response ejected the attacker and prevented the network from being encrypted, and that its clinical information systems were not affected. It engaged third-party cybersecurity experts for containment and forensic work, and notified law enforcement and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia.
At the point of disclosure the authority said only that certain employee information and a limited amount of other people's personal information had been affected, without describing the data. Its subsequent breach notice set out the scope: current and certain former employees, First Nations people in British Columbia holding Status cards, individuals with tuberculosis screening records from before 2016, and people who filed complaints with the authority between January 2020 and May 2024. Affected fields included names and contact details, dates of birth, gender, band affiliation, Status numbers, Personal Health Numbers, health benefits eligibility and claims information, TB test results and complaint records.
The authority offered eligible individuals a two year credit monitoring and identity theft protection subscription and opened a dedicated support line and email address. B.C. public safety minister Mike Farnworth said the incident was distinct from other cyberattacks reported in the province that spring.