Canadian construction company targeted in cyber attack

Homeland January 31, 2020

Canadian construction firm Bird Construction, which works with the government and military, was targeted in a cyber attack by MAZE.

Bird Construction fell victim to a ransomware cyber attack which saw 60GB of data stolen. Bird Construction had previously won 48 contracts with Canada’s Department of National Defence, worth $406million.

MAZE, a ransomware group, stole data relating to employees and partner companies and threatened to release it if the company didn’t pay the ransom. The firm has not said whether the ransom was paid or not.

VP Cyber at Nominet, Stuart Reed, said: “The ransomware attack on Bird, a Canadian construction company that services the military and government, highlights the duplicitous nature of ransomware attacks. Firstly, there is the disruption to business operation as systems are taken offline and, secondly, there is the data exfiltration. In this case, Bird should be commended for continuing to function with no business impact but unfortunately it did have data exposed that contained personal employee data and information relating to a partner company, Suncor Energy.”

“Above all, this latest attack demonstrates the complexity of managing the security of supply chains. While it is important that businesses have a holistic approach to their own security it is also vital that they scrutinize their suppliers to ensure the same standards of security are adhered to. It is also important to maintain a layered approach to cyber, utilising the network, for example, to identify potential threats and data theft as early as possible to be able to put appropriate measures in place to mitigate risk and damage.”

Bird Construction has completed a number of projects relating to defence, national security, and the police. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security recently released a guide on dealing with ransomware and recovery for businesses.

To learn more about cyber security and how your business can stay protected from threats, visit the Cyber Essentials Online website.

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