Cyber Incident Updates

Cyber Incident Updates

Friday, February 28, 2025

It has been three weeks since Rainbow District School Board experienced a cyber incident. Today, we are pleased to share that all of our critical systems are restored.

When technical difficulties emerged with the Board’s computer system at the start of the work day on Friday, February 7, 2025, Information Services staff quickly implemented measures to protect the board’s data.

A message was sent to staff, students, parents/guardians and the media that, in an abundance of caution, the board would be implementing a system-wide shutdown of all network services as of 10 am.

Everyone was advised that updates would be posted on www.rainbowschools.ca, which is hosted externally.

As staff were preparing to shut down network services, the board retained cyber security experts to investigate the cause of the disruption. By mid-afternoon, we confirmed and announced that the board was responding to a cyber incident.

We would like to extend our gratitude to staff in Information Services who worked well beyond the regular day and week to restore services as quickly as possible.

Phone lines were working in all offices on Monday, February 10, 2025, ensuring schools remained open and classes/programs continued. Internet service for staff came back online on Wednesday, February 12, 2025 followed by students on Friday, February 14, 2025.

Within a week, staff and students were able to access the applications they use for teaching and learning. Given that some students require assistive technology daily in the classroom and at home, restoring access for educational purposes was a priority.

With phones and Internet available, Information Services staff worked diligently to restore the operational applications that we use on a day-to-day basis. Their diligence and dedication was greatly appreciated by everyone. Thanks to their efforts, we were able to recover as quickly as possible.

As the work on restoring services began, our cyber security experts were assessing the impact of the unauthorized access to our system. Once we confirmed that personal information had been accessed, we reported the incident to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (Ontario) and advised them that we would be notifying the groups of individuals who were affected.

The notification was shared on Thursday, February 20, 2025 with current employees, students, parents/guardians and the media by email. The notification was mailed to former employees who were impacted.

The notification included information about the credit monitoring services being provided to those who were eligible based on the type of data. Rainbow District School Board has since received confirmation that the data acquired by the unauthorized individuals was deleted and has not been shared.

Rainbow District School Board would like to thank former employees and graduates who emailed us with enquiries and address changes. We continue to answer email at [email protected]. We also continue to work with experts to monitor and maintain the network’s security.

Rainbow District School Board would also like to thank staff, students, parents/guardians, the media and the community for their patience and understanding as we responded to this cyber incident.

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Thursday, February 20, 2025

Important Update
Rainbow District School Board Cyber Incident 

Rainbow District School Board experienced technical difficulties with its computer system on Friday, February 7, 2025. Measures were quickly taken to protect the board’s network and the data stored on the board’s network. A system-wide shutdown began at 10 am at the Centre for Education and all schools in Sudbury, Espanola and Manitoulin Island.

By mid-afternoon, we confirmed and announced that the technical difficulties were due to a cyber incident. Since then, we have been working diligently with cyber security experts to assess the impact, including whether any personal information was compromised.

While this work is ongoing, we have been able to confirm that the perpetrators of this crime have stolen sensitive data stored on the Rainbow District School Board network. 

We take this matter very seriously and apologize to all those who are affected. We understand this news will be as concerning to you as it is to us and we are deeply sorry.

We have reported this cyber crime to the Greater Sudbury Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police.

While you are entitled to file a complaint with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC), please be advised that we have reported the matter to the IPC. You can visit the IPC’s website at www.ipc.on.ca. 

Please read this notice to understand how you may be impacted.

The purpose of this notice is to advise those affected as well as to provide information about the credit monitoring service being offered depending on the type of data that was compromised.

NOTIFICATION TO CURRENT AND FORMER EMPLOYEES
All staff members currently employed by Rainbow District School Board as well as individuals who worked for the Board between January 2010 and February 2025 are affected. This includes full-time, part-time and occasional staff.

If you are in this group, the personal information that was compromised includes some or all of the following: 

• address and primary phone number (2010 onward)
• social insurance number (2012 onward)
• bank account number (August 2017 onward)
• Employee ID/compensation and benefit information/ Ontario Ministry Educator Number (for teachers only) and police background check information (September 2018 onward)

For some current and former employees the stolen data also includes:

• medical information (2022 onward) such as doctor notes, physical abilities forms and leaves of absence forms

Should you experience fraud that you believe to be linked to this cyber incident, please report it immediately to Rainbow District School Board at [email protected].

Credit Monitoring
Rainbow District School Board will provide a two-year TransUnion® credit monitoring  service, free of charge, to all current and former staff whose personal information was compromised. This service will help you monitor for signs of identity theft for fraudulent purposes so that you can react swiftly to protect yourself.

Current staff members will receive further information about the credit monitoring service via their work email address. The Board will mail this information to current staff who do not have reasonable access to a work email and to former employees who worked for the Board between January 2010 and February 2025. 

This notice will be posted on the board’s website – rainbowschools.ca – to reach as many former employees as possible. We recognize that some individuals may have moved and our contact information may not be accurate. Please email [email protected] if your address changed after leaving the board.

NOTIFICATION TO STUDENTS AND PARENTS/GUARDIANS
This incident affects students and parents/guardians from 2011 to 2025 as outlined below:

Group	Information likely compromised
All students who graduated from Rainbow Schools from June 2012 to June 2024.	Date of birth, gender, home address, parent/guardian names and contact information, academic achievement data (grades and completion data), Ontario Education Number (OEN). (Compromised data for some members of this group includes medical provider’s identity, medical information, and immigration information.)
Current and former students with an identified exceptionality who have been  enrolled in an Intensive Support Program (ISP) in Rainbow Schools since 2019.	Compromised data includes being identified with an exceptionality, assessment information, medical diagnosis, and  information about related needs, including accommodation and student support information, behavioural information and health card number.
Parents or guardians of the students belonging to the groups identified above.	Contact information (including phone  numbers, home addresses and email addresses), and place of employment.
Former students who were enrolled in a Rainbow School since 2011 who received a scholarship and T4A for income tax purposes.	Social insurance number.*
School photos from the 2012-2013 school year to and including the 2024-2025 school year without student names.	There are no personal identifiers (ie student names) attached to the school photos, images of students only.

Frequently Asked Questions
Updated on February 20, 2025

When did the cyber incident occur?
Rainbow District School Board experienced technical difficulties with its computer network at the start of the work day on Friday, February 7, 2025. In an abundance of caution, we advised staff, students and parents/guardians that the network would be shut down at 10 am in all schools and the board office. By mid-afternoon, we confirmed and announced that we were dealing with a cyber incident.

What is a cyber incident?
A cyber incident occurs when an unauthorized individual gains access to an organization’s computer network. The information can include general records and personal information.

What is personal information?
Personal information is information about an identifiable individual, for example, home address, phone number, social insurance number, banking information, etc.

How did this cyber incident occur?
We are currently working with experts to determine the origin and cause of the incident. Our legal counsel from the law firm BLG has retained Kroll, and they are advising us together. The investigation continues. 

Has this been reported to the authorities?
The cyber incident and theft of data has been reported to the Greater Sudbury Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

What data was taken?
While some of the records that were accessed were general in nature, we have confirmed that records containing personal information about identifiable individuals were also accessed. We have provided notifications to current and former staff who are affected as well as students and parents/guardians who are affected.

Has the data been published anywhere?
We have no evidence that the data has been published anywhere. The possibility, however, remains.

Are all systems back up and running?
We are still recovering, though schools are operating without any significant disruption.

What can I do to protect myself?
We have offered affected employees and former employees a two-year credit monitoring service with TransUnion. This service detects signs of potential fraud so that protective measures can be taken. Registering for this service is one of the best ways to protect yourself against identity theft. You can set up alerts to notify you if someone tries to open a credit account in your name. We have offered this same service to graduates aged 18 and over who received scholarships.

Should I place a fraud alert on my credit report?
Adding a fraud alert to your credit report to warn potential lenders that you may be a victim of identity theft is an option. This may prompt lenders to take additional steps to verify identity. As the fraud alert can cause delays in transactions, however, the decision to place the alert is yours. Placing a fraud alert on your TransUnion record is free of charge. You may also choose to add a fraud alert to your Equifax credit file.

Should I replace my bank account number and other identification numbers?
Registering for credit monitoring is one of the best ways to protect yourself. We are not recommending that employees or former employees change their bank account or other identification numbers. Social insurance numbers cannot be changed without proof of fraudulent use.

Why don’t you offer subscriptions to both TransUnion and Equifax services?
Both companies offer the same services with overlapping coverage.

Why did you offer two years of credit monitoring?
Given the prevalence of cyber attacks and data theft, the impact of an isolated incident is difficult to assess. In this context, many organizations offer a one-year credit monitoring service. We have chosen to provide a two-year service to those eligible.

What should I do if I believe I am a victim of identity theft as a result of this incident?
If you have experienced identity theft that you believe is related to this incident, please notify Rainbow District School Board immediately at [email protected]. Insurance is available to those eligible who have enrolled in the credit monitoring service that we have provided.

Will registering for credit monitoring have an impact on my credit rating?
No, it will not affect your credit rating.

Why don’t you provide credit monitoring to all students and parents who are affected?
Except for information relating to students who received scholarships, the information relating to students and parents/guardians is more limited than the information for employees and former employees. In addition, people under the age of majority are not eligible for credit monitoring.

How can parents/guardians be proactive?
Limit the amount of personal information shared online, use strong unique passwords for all online services, regularly monitor online activity, and be alert to suspicious communications.

Is there a concern that grades have been tampered with? 
There is no evidence of grade tampering, and we have no concerns with accurately reporting grades for university or college applications.

Thursday, February 13, 2025 at Noon

Rainbow District School Board is pleased to share that staff are now able to access the Internet at all schools and the Centre for Education.

Core functions have been restored at a staff level.

Online attendance taking has resumed.

Parents/guardians can call in absences or report absences by email.

Attendance completed manually over the past few days will be entered into the Board’s online student information system.

Staff are also able to access some of the applications they use for teaching and learning at school.

More applications used by staff will be phased in as we are able to restore more functionality in the network.

Wi-Fi access to students remains off at this time.

We will provide updates as work progresses.

Rainbow District School Board continues to work closely with cyber security experts to assess the impact of the cyber incident.

As always, we appreciate your ongoing patience.

We will continue to post updates on rainbowschools.ca.
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Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at Noon

Rainbow District School Board continues to work diligently with third part experts to assess the impact of its current cyber incident.

We are grateful to our administrators and our teaching and support staff for the high level of engagement and interaction occurring in classrooms as we prioritize teaching and learning. They are modeling skills that we instill in students.

Our staff and students have demonstrated, once again, that they have the ability to be flexible and adaptable in response to changing circumstances.

We also extend our gratitude to students and parents/guardians. Your patience is greatly appreciated as we work to bring services back online. This process takes time and we thank you for your understanding.

Please continue to call schools to report absences. Do not report absences though email. There is no Internet service at any school at this time. We will notify everyone when Internet service has been restored.

Please continue to visit rainbowschools.ca for updates.
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Sunday, February 9, 2025 at Noon

Rainbow District School Board continues to experience a disruption in its computer network due to a cyber incident.

Schools will remain open and all classes and programs will continue.

Attendance will be taken.

Parents will be able to call schools to report absences.

Schools will be able to call home for the Safe Arrival program.

There is no access to the Internet at this time.

Our Information Services staff continue to work with third party experts to assess the impact of the cyber incident.

We will advise everyone when Google applications, including email, will resume.

Please continue to visit rainbowschools.ca for updates.

Thank you.
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Friday, February 7, 2025 at 2:30 pm

Rainbow District School Board can now confirm that its system-wide network disruption is due to a cyber incident.

When technical issues emerged earlier today, measures were quickly implemented to protect the board’s computer network.

Information Services staff are working with cyber security experts to conduct a full assessment in order to determine the impact of the cyber incident as well as the origin and cause.

At this time, there is no indication that any personal information has been compromised. Should that situation change, we will inform the community.

Rainbow District School Board’s website is not affected by this disruption.

Please visit rainbowschools.ca for updates.

We will share more information as it becomes available.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.
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Friday, February 7, 2025 at 10 am

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Rainbow District School Board is currently experiencing technical difficulties with its computer network.

In an abundance of caution, all computer systems and applications will be turned off at approximately 10 am.

There will be no access to email, voice mail, Google drive, social media or any other applications that our schools use on a day-to-day basis.

This notice affects the Centre for Education and all schools in Sudbury, Espanola and Manitoulin Island.

All schools remain open. All classes and programs continue.

Teachers will adjust their lesson plans accordingly.

Should you need to reach your child, you are asked to visit the school or contact your child on their cell phone. Students will be allowed to check their phones periodically.

Rainbow District School Board’s website is not affected by this disruption.

Please visit rainbowschools.ca for updates.

More information will be shared on our website as it becomes available.

Thank you.