Lakehead Student and Employee Information Targeted by Malware

On July 14th, many Lakehead University employees received an email from the newly formed cyberquestions@lakeheadu.ca email address informing them that technology services “recently learned that the following information related to your Lakehead University T4 form was accessed by malware: Name, Address, Social Insurance Number, and Salary information” as a result of a cybersecurity attack which began on February 3, 2021 and lasted until February 25, 2021.

The incident affected certain Windows-based servers and systems on Lakehead campuses and affected a number of Lakehead University employees, including multiple students employed through the university (although the Argus is not yet aware of an exact number). It is also unclear why it took nearly 5 months to identify and inform those affected of this serious breach in security.

Lakehead students, staff and employees are encouraged to check their emails and sign up for the year free of Equifax credit monitoring provided by Lakehead and linked in the University’s email. We also encourage readers to explore the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s website to learn more about how to protect yourself from fraud and what to do in the event you become a victim.