City and school officials were on high alert last week as the WannaCry ransomware attack shut down Windows computers around the world, including government offices in the U.K.
School District 43 and the cities of Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam and Port Moody confirmed this week that their internet technology workers were keenly aware of the situation and working to ensure local systems weren't affected.
"The information services division monitored the developing situation on Friday, May 12th and throughout the weekend," PoCo's Robin Wishart said in an email, adding that checks on the computer systems were conducted every few hours to fend off any infection with security patches.
Similar tactics were employed at SD43 and it appears that local networks were unscathed. One reason: the installation of new computers last year.
"This ransomware incident that occurred was really an attack on old computer systems, and this is exactly why you've seen us make a conscious and budgeted effort to eliminate old computers," said Stephen Whiffin, the district's associate director of instruction for learning and information technologies.
"We got rid of all Windows XP systems last year," he told The Tri-City News, pointing out that keeping computer systems up to date is key to protecting networks.
It was thanks to last year's surplus, mostly due to international education funds, that SD43 was able to update its technology after a survey found that 41% of 12,000 computers were past their useful life.
A FINE LINE
But the size and the complexity of SD43's technology inventory — which likely dwarfs that of many cities — is further complicated by the fact that students are allowed to bring their own devices to school. That means there could be issues with student technology and Whiffin said SD43 has to be constantly on the alert for security issues.
In fact, during last Friday's ransomware attack, SD43's IT staff noticed some suspicious activity that could be related to the WannaCry infection. Whiffin said that was mostly website activity that was flagged in connection with WannaCry and was limited to internet traffic on SD43's network.
"Most likely, it was a kid thinking, 'What's this whole thing about?' and trying to see if they could learn about the hacking activity," Whiffin said, noting that the district walks a fine line between protecting internet systems and encouraging students to be tech savvy and curious about technology.
"Our kids are engaged in some of this activity," he said. "Sometimes they don't make the smartest decisions. We want to make sure we're proactive. It's a big part of why we needed to invest in technology."
Meanwhile, the cities of Port Moody and Coquitlam avoided the WannaCry ransomware attack with enhanced security policies, advanced spam filtering, backing up computers and patching operating systems for keeping the city’s data safe, officials told The Tri-City News.
— with files from Mario Bartel, Gary McKenna and Janis Cleugh
