Cyber attack knocks out service on NCC’s website

A spokesperson for the National Capital Commission said Friday that the federal agency has been the victim of a “denial of service” attack that knocked down its webpage and other services.

The NCC’s website was put out of service last Monday “following an external attack with the intention of making the site unavailable,” spokesperson Valérie Dufour said in an email.

“We are working to restore the situation as quickly as possible, neither our systems nor personal data have been compromised,” Dufour said, adding that the NCC is “working closely with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and our hosting partners to restore service quickly and securely.”

There was no official target provided for when the website would be working again.

“Until our site is back online, we are using our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts to communicate with the public,” Dufour said. 

In recent days, other Canadian websites have been targeted by cyberattacks with pro-Russian groups claiming responsibility. Targets included websites for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Port of Quebec and Laurentian Bank.

Quebec’s power utility Hydro-Quebec said Thursday it was working to get its website and mobile application running again after they were knocked off-line by a cyberattack.

A pro-Russian hacker group known as NoName057 (16) claimed responsibility. The hacker group, which has reportedly acted on Moscow’s orders, has taken part in a slew of cyberattacks on the U.S. and its allies in the past.

Steve Waterhouse, a cybersecurity expert and lecturer at Universite de Sherbrooke, said a denial of service attack is one of the easiest to perform — a sort of “cyber protest” that doesn’t target any specific data.

Waterhouse said the pro-Russian group in question emerged in March 2022 and has vowed to help the Russian government as it wages war in Ukraine. It has targeted anyone opposing Russia, including NATO countries and allies.

Waterhouse said organizations and governments have to adapt to new threats and evaluate whether they have the best tools to defend against such attacks.

According to the Canadian Centre for Cyber ​​Security, these types of attacks cause more fear than harm, but invited organizations to protect themselves.

In a statement Thursday, Defence Minister Anita Anand urged Canadian critical infrastructure organizations to follow government recommendations to help protect against cyberattacks. She took the unusual step of laying out specific actions for organizations to take.

“If you run the critical systems that power our communities, offer internet access to Canadians, provide health care, or generally operate any of the services Canadians can’t do without, you must protect your systems,” she said. “Monitor your networks. Apply mitigations.”

With files from The Canadian Press