The Canada Revenue Agency has temporarily shut down its online services, thanks to a couple of cyber attacks.
The agency confirmed on the weekend that it was recently hit by two cyberattacks that compromised thousands of accounts linked to its services.
It says while the breaches have been contained, services connected to My Account, My Business Account and Represent a Client on the CRA website have been disabled as an additional safety measure.
The shutdown means that anyone attempting to apply for emergency COVID-19 benefits, such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit or the Canada Emergency Student Benefit, will be unable to do so until further notice.
The agency said about 5,500 accounts had been affected by the separate attacks.
The decision to suspend CRA’s online services comes at a time when many Canadians and businesses have been using the revenue agency’s website to apply for and access financial support related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cyberattacks targeted @CanRevAgency and other accounts recently – but the government acted quickly to protect your privacy and personal information. We are now investigating, as is the @RCMPGRCPolice. Tune in here as officials provide an update: https://t.co/wE0THJjLqd
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) August 17, 2020
Our online services are currently unavailable. We're working to restore them and will provide updates as soon as they are available. Thank you for your patience. #CdnTax pic.twitter.com/BoujTxG8Wx
— Canada Revenue Agency (@CanRevAgency) August 16, 2020
https://twitter.com/DigitalCDN/status/1294670901011722240