Public Works and Government Services Canada Data Breach (2012)

A hacker was able to gain access to two government computers earlier this year, a breach of security that went unnoticed for days until a “trusted source” notified Shared Services Canada of the intrusion. A forensic analysis of the two computers from Public Works and Government Services Canada showed no malicious code or “suspicion of infection or compromise,” according to a security report filed after the incident, but IT security workers were working on the firewalls around the network to ensure another hacker didn’t gain unauthorized access. The hacker was able to get into the computers through a program that allows remote access to a workstation via an Internet connection. The breach began May 31 and was still active on June 7 when the unnamed source told Shared Services Canada about suspicious network activity. The “brute force” attack on Public Works was one of several successful breaches between May and August, according to reports released to Postmedia News under the access to information law that showed successful cyber-attacks targeted departments and agencies that were previously not breached, including the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, which was hit twice in July and once in August.