It may have just been a coincidence.
But the revelation by Stratford officials on Sept. 19 that the city paid $75,000 to a hacker to regain access to its computer network following a cyber attack five months earlier was followed by a wave of cyber attacks across Southwestern Ontario.
In little more than a week, Woodstock city hall, Woodstock police, hospitals in Wingham and Listowel and an auto parts manufacturer in Strathroy also came under attack.
Employees lost access to their email, phones and data and the public was cut off from using websites to obtain and provide information. IT departments and police and private investigators worked overtime to restore systems and hunt down who was responsible for the attacks that indicate nothing is off limits for hackers out to make a few bucks.
Worldwide, cyber crime has become a multibillion-dollar industry. Large corporations, especially those handling money and personal information, have long been targets – think the Yahoo and Equifax hacks in recent years.
But less noticeable are the municipalities and public agencies – hospitals, school boards, police departments – targeted and crippled, often for weeks and months, by cyber…
