Publication Date: April 29, 2021
Public advised to be vigilant on suspicious calls, emails and online activity
The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) is advising the public to take extra care to monitor for any unusual activities such as phone calls, emails and online activity, following a cyber security incident reported by the RMOW on April 28.
At this time, our forensic investigation into this matter is ongoing. We continue to investigate whether any information was accessed by an unauthorized user and should our investigation indicate that personal information was indeed accessed, we will inform affected individuals immediately. The RMOW is further strengthening its security safeguards to ensure that all information in its custody remains secure.
The RMOW is currently working with cyber security experts and the RCMP has launched an investigation into this incident.
“I appreciate that this is having a large impact on our community already challenged by COVID- 19, as well as Whistler property owners and those who have accessed RMOW services in the past,” said Chief Administrative Officer Virginia Cullen. “Although we have robust protections in place to prevent this type of illegal event, these cyber criminals breached our server. As soon as we were aware of this, we took measures to prevent further access, and are now in the process of working with cybersecurity experts before we put the system back online.”
Infrastructure such as water and sewage and emergency systems such as 911 and the Whistler Fire Department have been secured and continue to operate as normal.
Non-essential RMOW services are being temporarily suspended because email, phone, network services and the website have been taken offline. In-person service at municipal hall has also been temporarily suspended. We apologize for this inconvenience and will provide an update when we are able to return those services.
Additionally, the Tuesday, May 4 Meetings of Council, (Closed, Committee of the Whole and Regular) have been cancelled.
An Incident Command Team has been activated to focus on business continuity and restoration of services.
A call centre is available should you have questions at 604-932-5535 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.
RMOW will provide ongoing updates to media and the public at www.whistler.ca.
