The North Shore libraries are aware of a cybersecurity incident at the BC Libraries Co-operative on April 19. We want to assure our community that no North Vancouver City Library patron data was compromised in the breach.
Some libraries in British Columbia that subscribe to certain library system products offered by the Co-op may have had their emails and phone numbers exposed. North Vancouver City Library does not subscribe to those Co-op products, so patrons at City Library remain unaffected.
If you have questions, please reach out to the library’s privacy officer.
For more information about this incident, please visit the Co-op website at https://bc.libraries.coop/news/cyber-security-incident-april-19/.
Take steps to keep your data safe!
The cybersecurity incident at the Co-op was a spear-phishing attack. A spear-phishing attack exploits existing relationships between people on email. A hacker will send an email pretending to be someone you email with frequently (e.g., posing as a company’s CEO demanding cash ASAP to pay a bill). These types of attacks are often much more believable than usual hacking attempts.
You can keep yourself and your data safe by utilizing these tactics to protect against phishing attempts:
- Verify — Check the email sender’s address and the source of the message for discrepancies.
- Protect — Don’t share personal information with unverified sources, especially if the request seems suspicious. City Library will never ask for personal information or payment via email.
- Check — Visit website URLs that have a secure connection. Secured websites begin with “https://”
- Report — Tell your administrator or service provider about suspicious activity. This helps protect you and others from online scams.