Emera, Nova Scotia Power grapple with cybersecurity breach
No disruption to service in Nova Scotia, companies say
Emera and Nova Scotia Power say they are responding to a cybersecurity incident.
They said in a news release Monday that someone gained unauthorized access to parts of their Canadian network and servers supporting their business applications. The breach was discovered April 25, according to the release.
The news release did not say what information was accessed, or what, if anything, was done with it.
It said there is no impact on the utility's ability to serve customers in Nova Scotia, and there has been no disruption to any Canadian physical operations such as Nova Scotia Power's generation, transmission and distribution facilities, the Maritime Link or the Brunswick Pipeline.
However, Nova Scotia Power posted to its social media channels Sunday night that it was having a "technical issue" with its phone line and customers' ability to access their accounts.
In response to customers asking about the breach Monday on Facebook, the company said it is "currently open to support our customers for emergencies and outages only."
The utility's website said the issues were caused by the security breach. Customers can still report emergencies or outages through Nova Scotia's outage line, though they may face a longer wait.
Emera's U.S. and Caribbean utilities have not been affected, the news release said.
When the breach was discovered, the companies took steps to isolate the affected servers and prevent further intrusion, and also called police and brought in third-party cybersecurity experts.
No further information provided
Spokespeople for Emera and Nova Scotia Power declined an interview and said they could not provide any further information.
They did not answer questions about whether customers' information has been compromised.
Earlier this year, Nova Scotia Power asked the province's utility regulator for permission to spend $6.8 million to upgrade its cybersecurity.
The utility identified 12 sites that would have upgrades under its plan, but those locations were not made public. The deadline to provide written submissions on the matter is May 14.
