CodeRED Cybersecurity Incident

The Town of Mahone Bay wishes to inform residents that an external cybersecurity incident has occurred at OnSolve, the company responsible for the CodeRED alert system, which is used by many Canadian municipalities, for emergency notifications. This system operates completely independently of municipal systems. As such, none of the Town's technological infrastructure has been affected, and the situation is strictly limited to the external provider OnSolve.  

According to information provided by OnSolve, data associated with the CodeRED platform was removed from their systems by an unauthorized third party in November and may be made public. The personal information provided to CodeRED and affected by this incident consists of basic contact details, including name, address, phone number, and email address, as well as the password associated with the account profile creation.  

CodeRED and associated accounts are no longer accessible, as the platform has been deactivated. The risks associated with this incident are mainly limited to the reuse of the same CodeRED password for other services. 

What you need to do:  
If you signed up for CodeRED on their website (not set up for you by Town Hall staff) and if the password you used to register for CodeRED is the same as the one you use to access other online services, we recommend that you immediately change these passwords and replace them with a unique, strong password for each service. As always, be vigilant about unsolicited or unexpected communications. This includes automated phone calls claiming to be from Town staff.
The Town would like to reassure the public that: 

• No municipal systems have been affected;  
• Our infrastructure remains secure. 

OnSolve is continuing its investigation and have decommissioned OnSolve CodeRED, they are in the process of migrating all customers to the new CodeRED by Crisis24 platform. Since it is possible that the complete list of subscribers cannot be recovered from OnSolve, further communication will follow to explain how to register for the Town's new alert system once it is fully operational. The Town is monitoring the situation closely and will continue to keep residents informed of any significant developments in this matter while keeping its options open.   
The Town continues to regularly review its practices and those of its suppliers to ensure that they comply with appropriate security standards. 

If you have any questions about this, please consult the FAQ produced by CodeRED or write to [email protected]