Cyber attack puts Sault-area school board in the red

A cyber attack in December 2022 has cost the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (HSCDSB) $900,000.

Insurance covered $500,000, or 56 per cent of the expense, Justin Pino, the board’s superintendent of business said following a board meeting on Dec. 13. The board paid the remaining $400,000 for expenses including legal fees and incident response.

Board officials said the final cost was less than what the board had forecasted early in 2023.

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THE INCIDENT

When the attack first happened on Dec. 15/22, students were sent home early for their annual Christmas break.

The hackers sent a note through school photocopiers advising they had gained access to the school's network.

The board’s phone and computer system was targeted, but no demands were made from the hackers.

The incident affected the board’s communication systems, including phones and PA systems.

A significant number of files were taken from a server were stolen. The incident affected recent employees, current students and former students.

The board determined that employees employed in 2019 through 2022 were likely affected. The exposed information included:

• social insurance numbers,
• date of birth information,
• compensation information,
• and banking information

“We have already made improvements to our network security, and once our investigation is complete will respond to the findings in a manner that better protects us from the very significant cyber risks which face school boards across the province today,” said the board in a statement earlier this year.

The board provided affected staff and former employees with a two-year credit monitoring service – a service that allows one to check for signs of identity fraud – at no cost to protect themselves if desired.

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THE FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

The board posted a loss of $29,697 for its fiscal year ending Aug. 31/23, mostly due to the cyberattack, said Pino. HSCDSB drew from its surplus of $11.2 million to cover the red ink.

Danny Viotto, the board’s director of education said he welcomed the details provided in the financial update at the meeting given HSCDSB’s programming expansion, the cyberattack and all the new initiatives area schools have taken on.

“I’m very, very happy to see that we have such a small deficit,” Viotto said.

“It’s something to celebrate.”

The board’s 2022-2023 budget was just over $89 million.

A full look at the board’s financial information from Sept. 1/22 to Aug. 31/23 can be found in the agenda of their Dec. 13 meeting.