The QEII Foundation recently learned that one of our third-party service providers, Blackbaud, experienced a ransomware attack that affected a growing list of non-profit organizations around the world, including the QEII Foundation.
The QEII Foundation uses Blackbaud products to manage our donor information and to communicate with members of our community.
We are advised by Blackbaud that the ransom was paid, copies obtained by the cybercriminals were destroyed, and that their internal and law enforcement investigations have found no evidence that any information was disclosed by the cybercriminals. Based on this information, our preliminary assessment is that there is a very low risk of harm to any individual materializing from this cyberattack.
This cyberattack may have resulted in a breach of some personal information of our stakeholders, including name, contact information, date of birth, giving history and past engagement with the QEII Foundation. Please note that:
- Financial data such as banking and credit card information were not impacted by this incident. All such information is encrypted and was not accessible to the cyber criminals.
- The QEII Foundation does not have access to anyone’s medical or health records.
- QEII Home Lottery ticket purchaser information is kept separately and was not impacted.
The QEII Foundation takes privacy and security very seriously. In response to this incident, we are:
- Continuing to investigate the issue;
- Communicating with our stakeholders; and
- Working closely with Blackbaud to understand the incident and that an appropriate and immediate response is taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Like many of our peers around the world, we are extremely disappointed and frustrated by this security breach. We will continue to work closely with Blackbaud to address this issue, put further security measures in place and update our community, including sharing any measures they can take to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity. You can read more about the incident and Blackbaud’s response here.
No action is currently required on the part of any affected individuals. We are very sorry for any inconvenience and concern that this issue may cause. If you have any questions regarding this incident and the QEII Foundation’s response, please don’t hesitate to contact us:
QEII Foundation main reception: 902 334 1546 or 1 888 428 0220
Email: info@qe2foundation.ca