An investigation of a cyberattack against the computer systems of the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) has revealed personal information was stolen about members of the UCDSB community. The school board, which operates all English-language public schools in Prescott-Russell and Stormont-Dundas and Glengarry first discovered the cyberattack on January 6.
Those affected by the incident include current and former staff members, students and their parents or guardians, donors or other clients of the board administration office in Brockville. The UCDSB has notified the majority of those affected and will continue to analyze the stolen data to determine if further notification is necessary. This process may take time to complete. The UCDSB understands this news may be concerning for people, and is deeply sorry for this.
The UCDSB believes the risk of publication and misuse of the exposed information to be low. However, the UCDSB is providing credit monitoring for eligible groups, which includes past employees among others.
More information about how current employees, past employees, parents and guardians, donors and payors, and students (past and present) have been impacted, and how eligible individuals can receive credit monitoring, is available on the UCDSB website at www.ucdsb.on.ca/cyberincident. There is also a robust FAQ section. The UCDSB encourages anyone who is eligible for credit monitoring to sign up for it, as it’s a good way to protect against identity theft.
The investigation is ongoing, and the UCDSB may need to notify others in time. Know that we are also committed to strengthening our cybersecurity program to better protect against future incidents.
The UCDSB has reported the incident to the Brockville Police Service and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC).
On Monday, February 27, the UCDSB provided an update on the recovery from the incident and how parents, guardians, students, and staff continue to be affected.
Staff and student wifi is working, however the websites that can be accessed are limited. Currently, only internal systems (such as school office tools, email, etc.) are being permitted. That means no outside websites (Google, YouTube, etc.) are currently available on school wi-fi networks.
All staff and student passwords were reset. Staff regained access to email and UC accounts last week, and this week the IT team is working to restore student access.
The My Family Room service is still offline. Student absences and late arrivals must still be communicated by telephone to the school.
Given that students taking eLearning courses with the UCDSB have not been able to access their course or in some cases, connect with their teacher since the return of winter break, there will be no final exams or final projects in semester one eLearning courses. Final marks will be determined primarily on work submitted up until Dec. 20, 2024. If you have concerns about how this may impact your child’s success in eLearning courses, please reach out to your eLearning teacher directly.
For UCDSB students taking eLearning courses through other school boards, the UCDSB has made the partner boards aware of the situation and continues to work with them to ensure students are not negatively impacted academically.
Report cards will now go home/be available on Thursday, February 20 rather than Friday, February 14. This new date still meets Ministry of Education requirements and will not impact students who may be applying for college or university.
