Nunavut, a sparsely populated Northern Territory in Canada is reported to have hit by a ransomware attack disrupting its electronic communication services badly. The website related to the Government of Nunavut (GN) and some public services were reportedly affected throughout the territory and the source says that the web portal disruption might take at least a month to recover.
Nunavut Premier Joe Savikataaq, issued a statement yesterday (Nov 2) on Twitter that a file-encrypting malware has locked down the database from access and so those accessing GN might experience issues with logins and transactions.
GN’s Facebook page has confirmed the attack as ransomware and added that the government isn’t sure when the services will come back.
Note 1- In July this year, Martin Joy, the director of Information and Communication Technology of Nunavut said to Nunatsiaq news that his country is experiencing over 4k to 5k cyber attacks per week on an average. However, he never disclosed details on the Cybersecurity measures being taken to thwart all kinds of cyber-attacks including ransomware.
Note 2- Nunavut which is home to a large population of Eskimos has made Inuktitut or Inuinnaqtun language as an official language as 83% of the populace speaks this language along with English and French. As there are no roads in this place most of the transportation needs are fulfilled by boats, planes and Reindeer led sled carts.
