Air Creebec is investigating a cyber attack that may have exposed personal information of employees, passengers and business partners. Some people in Timmins and the surrounding region may be affected. The airline said unauthorized parties accessed some of its administrative systems in late October, taking files that may contain sensitive information. The company hasn’t yet determined how many people were affected. “It’s very hard to tell at the moment because the interim evaluation is still underway,” said Edward Trahan, director of marketing and business development for Air Creebec. Don’t have exact numbers “So I don’t want to speculate until we have exact numbers.” The airline said the hacked information could include records belonging to current and former employees, passengers and business partners. The company is working to determine whose information was accessed and what protections they may need. “People affected will be contacted directly with what measures will be given to them and what the next steps will be for them to ensure that they’re protected,” said Trahan. Air Creebec has brought in cybersecurity specialists to investigate the incident and strengthen its systems. AI is a new tool The airline said its aircraft and flight systems operate separately from the affected network. Paul Brunet, an IT and cybersecurity professional with Great White North Technology in Timmins, said the threat is evolving, with artificial intelligence giving cybercriminals another tool to target businesses. “Hackers are also able to leverage AI to get into systems to find zero-day vulnerabilities within the systems that they think businesses use on a day-to-day basis,” said Brunet. Brunet said businesses need to stay on top of software updates and make sure they have the right security measures in place. “You’re making sure that you’re staying on top of all of your patching,” he said. “You’re making sure that you’re utilizing the latest and greatest security best practices, multifactor authentication, that sort of stuff.” Air Creebec has posted advice and tools to help people protect themselves on its website. A dedicated phone line for questions is also expected to be available soon.
