No personal info lost in ransomware attack, says VON Canada

VON Canada is assuring clients and staff that their information is safe after the nursing organization was the target of a ransomware incident earlier this month. 

Ransomware is a malicious software program designed to hold a computer system hostage, blocking access until money is paid. The Victorian Order of Nurses said in a statement on its website that it has not paid out any ransom. 

"There is no evidence at this time to indicate that any employee, client or volunteer information was compromised in any way," the statement read. 

The organization said it discovered the problem Sept. 1, and immediately shut down all its computer systems to make sure its network and user data stayed secure. VON's phone and email systems were included in the shutdown, which led to some delays and missed appointments.

VON said it went to "manual operations" for scheduling care and client information. Some requests for home visits from nurses had to be sent by fax.

VON offers personal care to people in their homes in Nova Scotia and Ontario, and the computer systems for both provinces were affected. The VON has approximately 13,000 clients in Nova Scotia, where it has returned to normal operations. Ontario had not resumed normal operations as of Tuesday. 

In its statement, VON said it hired "leading cyber-security experts" to scan, clean, and certify its systems before bringing them back online. As of Tuesday, the organization was in the middle of a forensic audit to determine how the ransomware got into the VON computer system.