Chastin Rand is among the individuals who have been contacted by Nova Scotia Power regarding the data breach.
Even though it was not addressed to her but to her former partner, the situation has triggered more questions than answers.
“That’s what’s puzzling to me; I am unsure why it was sent here and why it reached my address. Is my address compromised?” Rand questions. “Is it the account or is it his information that’s at risk? It just doesn’t add up.”
She admits she is uncertain about the next steps. She attempted to contact the utility but was unable to connect, and she is unsure if she should be worried about her data.
“It’s concerning as it makes me wonder about the accuracy of the information they possess,” she adds.
Although she has not come across anyone else who has encountered the same situation of another person’s name on her letter, she is part of the group of customers affected by the cyber intrusion on Nova Scotia Power’s servers. The breach exposed bank account details, SIN numbers, addresses, and various other personal data.
Nova Scotia Power disclosed on April 25 that one of its servers and sections of its network were infiltrated in a cyber assault. On May 23, the company revealed that the attack was a ‘sophisticated’ ransomware incident.
They clarified that no ransom was paid to the culprits behind the attack, and the stolen customer data was leaked online.
Nova Scotia Power is providing affected customers with access to a credit monitoring service. However, cybersecurity and privacy expert Claudiu Popa warns that credit monitoring should not be the primary concern following an attack of this nature.
“What this implies is… It’s not just a list of random individuals that I may have obtained. I now possess precise information about these individuals, including their income, energy consumption, and daily habits,” Popa explains.
Nova Scotia Power has turned down Global News’ interview request.
To learn more about this incident, view the video above.
