OPP investigating 'cyber incident' affecting Kingston, Ont. police

Kingston Police headquarters in Kingston, Ont.

Ontario Provincial Police are investigating an unspecified “cyber incident” that has affected the Kingston Police Service.

In a release Monday, Kingston police said a network issue was first identified on Friday that was determined to be the result of a “cyber incident.” Police said it affected some IT systems, particularly non-emergency functions. The Kingston Police Service’s website appeared to be functioning normally Monday evening and a spokesperson was able to respond to CTV News Ottawa by email.

The ability for Kingston police to respond to emergency situations has not been impacted, both Kingston police and the OPP said.

“Following identification of the cyber incident, Kingston Police immediately implemented mitigation strategies, including shutting down access, to protect the public, our staff, data, and organization. In addition, we operationalized a team, which includes third-party cyber security experts, to support our investigation and ongoing response,” Kingston police said.

The OPP said its Cybercrime Investigations Team is investigating.

The nature of the incident has not been made public. OPP spokesperson Bill Dickson said the investigation is still in its early stages.

Kingston police, meanwhile, said the Information and Privacy Commissioner has been notified of the incident.

“Our top priority is to serve and protect the public. We are following a response plan to manage the incident as quickly and effectively as possible. We are also diligently working to ensure that our day-to-day operational activities have alternate processes where necessary and continue to function,” Kingston police said. “We are working closely with our government and enforcement partners to investigate the incident and to restore services. We have also notified the Kingston Police Service Board, the Mayor and the City of Kingston who are working to support us in every way they can.”

It’s not known whether this incident is connected to a “cyber incident” that affected the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) this week. Elementary and secondary schools in the district to the east of Kingston lost internet access following the incident, which the UCDSB said has been ongoing since Sunday.