Nova Scotia Power says customer banking details may have been stolen by hackers

Nova Scotia’s largest electric utility said Wednesday that hackers stole sensitive information from customers in a recent cyberattack.

Nova Scotia Power and its Halifax-based parent company Emera discovered on April 25 that an intruder had gained access to parts of its network, prompting the companies to isolate the affected servers.

In an update on Wednesday, Nova Scotia Power said it is still investigating the incident and working to rebuild “impacted systems.” It determined that on March 19, more than a month before discovering the intrusion, customer information was accessed and stolen. The information may have included contact and name information, customer account history — including power consumption and payments — driver’s license details, and Social Insurance numbers. Bank account numbers may also have been accessed, they said. 

The company, which supplies power to about 95% of the province, said it is in the process of notifying affected customers by mail. Emera did not immediately respond to questions about whether the incident involves ransomware and how many customers may have had their data stolen. 

Previously, they said physical operations like power generation and transmission were not affected by the cyberattack. 

The company warned of a rise in impersonation phone calls, texts, social media posts and websites purporting to be from Nova Scotia Power in the wake of the incident, and instructed customers to “remain vigilant” of communications asking for personal information.