Exploit: Phishing
Company: Nova Scotia Health Authority
Industry: Government, Health Services
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-health-authority-privacy-breach-1.5169171

Hackers were able to gain access to thousands of patients’ information stored on an employee’s email account. The employee was tricked into submitting his credentials to the hackers via an email that was originally thought to be from the company’s IT department. Nova Scotia Health Authority took nearly a month to size up the details of the data that was compromised and still cannot verify the specific data exposure. The company will now begin to focus on regaining patients’ trust and upgrading their cyber security protocols which should amount to a costly endeavor.

While the company continues to investigate, those affected should be aware of the magnitude of the breach and understand that their personal information may end up on the Dark Web. They should also begin to change passwords on used on other platforms, monitor their financials for suspicious activity and be wary of identification fraud.

Human error is not isolated to this case, it is something that most companies struggle with and equates to a high percentage of all data breaches. When looking at the combination of human error and the increasing level of attack sophistication, companies should be more thorough in their efforts to stay updated with their cyber security protocol and assist their employees with awareness training, loss prevention and other front-line security measures.

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