The office of The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada was a recent victim of a malicious cyber-attack.
On Nov. 25, Archbishop Linda Nicholls, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, announced they were targeted by cyber attackers who stole money from their office.
Nicholls says hackers, possibly from abroad, executed a targeted attack on an employee's email account using information available online.
Church leaders were able to quickly detect the attack after noticing an unauthorized withdrawal from the General Synod’s bank account.
“We promptly suspended withdrawals, stopped the attack, and immediately hired lawyers to investigate and remediate the breach. Very quickly after the incident, the financial institution fully reimbursed the General Synod for the funds stolen by the hackers," said Archbishop Linda Nicholls to the Council of General Synod.
Since the incident, all funds, except for the legal costs associated, have been returned. The office of the General Synod has also hired a top security firm to ensure the breach has been contained and eradicated.
No other personal financial information was leaked or accessed in the attack.