SLGA employee and client information compromised in 2021 cyberattack

Hackers accessed sensitive information on employees and clients of the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) during a 2021 cyberattack, according to the Government of Saskatchewan.

According to the government, cybersecurity experts found the attackers accessed “data associated with SLGA employees, including information typically collected by employers such as names, banking information and social insurance numbers.”

After consulting with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, SLGA advised its current and former employees about the potential threat, the government said Tuesday. SLGA also suggested steps employees could take to help ensure their information is secure, and offered them a credit monitoring service for two years.

The attackers also may have accessed personal information belonging to SLGA’s regulatory clients, the government noted. These clients provided detailed personal information in order to obtain licences like liquor or cannabis permits.

“SLGA is now directly notifying clients who provided SLGA with sensitive personal information within the past five years,” the government said in a statement.

“This information may include place and date of birth, driver’s licence, height, weight, eye colour, employment history, criminal record history and financial disclosures gathered as part of the licencing/permit process.”

According to the government, their cybersecurity experts found some of the information had already been shared on “the dark web,” Internet sites that require specific software or authorization to access.

SLGA’s clients were extended the same offers of credit monitoring and suggested steps to improve their data security.

The Crown corporation has hired an outside firm to conduct an audit of their cybersecurity systems and policies to help ensure no further data is compromised. Meanwhile, the investigation into the 2021 attack continues.