A school board in northern Ontario says employee social insurance numbers and bank account information were likely compromised during a cyber incident earlier this year.
The Rainbow District School Board, which has schools in Sudbury, Espanola and Manitoulin Island, said in a notice on its website Monday it has not received any confirmed reports of fraud or attempted fraud, and believes the risk of data misuse to be low.
The incident occurred on Feb. 7, the board said. Shortly after, it hired a third-party expert who worked with staff over the past nine months to determine if any additional personal information had been compromised beyond an initial notice the board sent out Feb. 20.
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It said Monday former employees whose employment with the board ended between 2005 and 2009, and who did not return to work after 2010, likely had their social insurance number compromised, among other things; current and former employees employed by the board in 2002 likely had their bank account number, employee ID number, address and annual salary compromised.
Employees enrolled in the board’s benefit program in 2009 and 2016 were impacted, as well as current and former employees who submitted a criminal record check from 2012 to 2019. The information likely compromised for both groups include names of beneficiaries and phone numbers.
The board added impacted employees include full-time, part-time and occasional staff.
As for students, several who attended various schools from 1966 to 2024 were impacted, and their date of birth, Student Ontario Education Number and grades were likely compromised.
Furthermore, individuals residing in the Greater Sudbury area who were eligible to vote for board trustees in the 2022 municipal election likely had their date of birth and address compromised, the board said.
It added it has reported the matter to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.
“We take this matter very seriously and believe due diligence is essential for transparency, accountability and trust,” the board said.
“We apologize to all those who have been impacted by this incident.”
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