Toronto, Ontario — July 4, 2019 — The Winnipeg-based Boyd Group Income Fund’s IT systems have been attacked by internet criminals.
On Tuesday, the multi-billion dollar auto repair investment group announced its internal systems had detected a ransomware attack, and that staff had taken steps to contain and mitigate the potential impact of the scheme.
“We are taking this attack very seriously”, said CEO Brock Bulbuck. “The integrity of our data and the security of our systems is paramount.”
According to the Boyd Group, there is no evidence that employee information was compromised, though security experts continue to investigate. Boyd also announced it would take steps to alert anyone found to have been impacted by the hack.
“Unfortunately, no organization can guarantee that it won’t suffer a cyber-attack,” Bulbuck said. “However, the Boyd Group is committed to ensuring that it has the appropriate controls in place to quickly identify and recover from such an attack.”
The company also said that the majority of its customer information is not stored in the systems affected by the hack, but rather on external, cloud-based applications. Some limited personal information about customers may have been included on the company’s servers.
The company has also announced that it will be conducting a comprehensive forensic review of its cybersecurity infrastructure. According to the company, the financial damage of the hack is expected to be minimal.
“While this has been a disruptive event that will have some short-term impact on our sales and earnings, our business model and strategy remains solid and unaffected. Boyd is committed to utilizing all available means to protect its operations and its customers’ information,’’ said Bulbuck. “We will continue to work with cybersecurity specialists to turn back unauthorized activity in this age of highly sophisticated threats to information systems.”
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Tomorrow, Collision Repair shares an exclusive interview with a cybersecurity expert Justin Bull. In 2013, Bull came to national prominence by alerting the Canadian Revenue Agency to a major security flaw. In the magazine’s conversation with him, Bull explains why the auto sector’s approach to cybersecurity may not be up to scratch, and what businesses can do to ensure they are keeping confidential data safe.
