As many as 4,000 current and former Oxford County employees may have had their personal information exposed in a recent cyberattack, the county’s warden says.
Warden Marcus Ryan apologized for the breach on Thursday and stated that the county is working to minimize its impact. Oxford County confirmed that it will notify past employees by mail and provide support. The investigation is looking into whether other groups have also possibly been affected.
Oxford County says that all of its systems remain operational and that public services haven’t been disrupted. The county is also working to prevent further breaches. Details of those measures are not being released while the investigation continues.
This incident comes as local governments across Southwestern Ontario have become frequent targets for hackers. In the last couple of years, Elgin County, Woodstock, Stratford, and the Town of St. Marys have all reported cyberattacks. A 2023 breach at hospitals in Chatham-Kent, Sarnia, and Windsor compromised data that belonged to around 270,000 patients.
