Toronto Zoo hit by cyberattack

The Toronto Zoo has been hit by a cyberattack involving ransomware.

The zoo said the breach was first detected on Jan. 5 and that officials took “immediate steps to start to determine the extent of the incident.”

It also said that it is investigating how the attack may have impacted its guests, members, and donor records.

At this point it is not clear whether any customer information was compromised.

“We can confirm we do not currently store any credit card information. Once we have more information we will share it broadly,” the Toronto Zoo said in a news release issued on Monday afternoon.

The zoo said its animal wellbeing, care, and support systems have not been impacted.

Normal operations also continue and the zoo is open to guests. Further, its website is not impacted.

“We are working with the City of Toronto’s Chief Information Security Office and third-party cyber security experts to resolve the situation and have reported it to Toronto Police Services,” the zoo said. “We do not have more information than what is being shared here, and we will be keeping you updated as we learn more. Unfortunately, these incidents are becoming more and more common and we are grateful we took steps over the past few years to upgrade our technology infrastructure.”

The cyberattack at the Toronto Zoo comes about two months after a similar ransomware attack on the Toronto Public Library (TPL) on Oct. 28.

That attack has impacted the TPL’s website as well as all public computers and printers at its 100 branches.

While cardholder and donor databases were unaffected officials believe that private data of current and former employees, including social insurance numbers and copies of government-issued identification, were likely stolen.

The library has said that it expects to restore services sometime early this year.