Tag Archive for: ontario

Gateway Casinos in Ontario face long road to recovery after ransomware attack, expert says



Several casinos in Ontario remain closed nearly two weeks after a cyberattack, with no official reopening date.


The ransomware attack that knocked the servers out to Gateway Casinos facilities was first detected on April 16.


Technology analyst Carmi Levy said the situation is the digital equivalent of recovering from a major fire or similar disaster.


“It’s as bad as it gets. And unfortunately, the damage is going to take years to undo, even if they are able to undo it,” the London, Ont.-based digital expert said. “You don’t just flip a switch and come back on.”


On Thursday, Gateway posted online it hopes to reopen using a phased approach “later this week; however, the reopening timeline depends on the pace of restoration and approval by regulatory bodies.”


The cybersecurity incident impacted operations to 14 casinos, including Casino Rama in Orillia, Georgian Downs in Innisfil, and Playtime Casinos Wasaga Beach.


According to Levy, the recovery procedure is a “multi-faceted, multi-staged process” involving highly-trained people.


“We call these ‘business killer events’ for a reason. Many companies that are targeted successfully by ransomware never fully recover. The direct costs will be into the millions if not the tens of millions or beyond,” the tech analyst said.


While the company has said there is no evidence to believe customer’s data was breached, Levy believes it’s possible.


“There is a very strong likelihood that it has been – that it is either being bought and sold on the dark web or will be at some point in time because all of these ransomware events tend to play out in the same way. There’s no coming back from that. ,” he noted.


While Casino Rama’s gaming floor remains closed to gamblers, the Orillia facility welcomed back concertgoers Thursday night in an attempt at getting some operations back to normal.


“The concert was very well attended, and people seemed very excited to be there,” said Rob Mitchell, director of communications at Gateway Casinos and Entertainment Limited.


A Scotty McCreery concert is scheduled to go ahead on Saturday.


Still, the digital analyst believes Gateway will have a long road…

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Ontario claims $75M stolen in ‘kickback schemes’ run by alleged ringleader of COVID-19 fraud


The Ontario government is alleging that as much as $75 million in taxpayers’ money was stolen as part of elaborate “kickback schemes” in the awarding of computer contracts.

In a dramatic expansion of the province’s civil case against the ex-bureaucrat accused in the alleged $11 million theft of COVID-19 relief funds, the Crown claims at least nine others are involved in a separate “conspiracy” dating back more than a decade.

“The plaintiff (the Ontario government) paid out approximately $40 million pursuant to FFSCs (fee-for-service contracts) resulting from the kickback schemes. The secret commissions totalled approximately $35 million,” government lawyers say in Ontario Superior Court civil filings.

“As a result of the conspiracy, the plaintiff suffered damages in the amount of $75 million,” the submission says.

That is over and above the $11 million allegedly taken from the Support for Families program, which gave Ontario parents $200 per child under age 12 and $250 per child and youth under 21 with special needs to offset online educational expenses early in the pandemic.

In court filings on that matter, the government alleges Sanjay Madan, spouse Shalini Madan, their adult sons Chinmaya and Ujjawal, and associate Vidhan Singh funneled cash to thousands of Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada, TD, Tangerine, and India’s ICICI bank accounts in 2020.

Sanjay and Shalini were then fired from their government information technology jobs and are currently on trial for criminal charges. Sanjay is charged with two counts of fraud and two counts of breach of trust.

He and Shalini are charged with possession of stolen property and laundering the proceeds of crime. Shalini, Chinmaya and Ujjawal have all denied any involvement in the alleged $11 million theft. Chinmaya and Ujjawal have not been charged criminally.

Singh was charged with money laundering, fraud, and possession of stolen property and Manish Gambhir was charged with possession of stolen property and possession of an identity document related — or purported to relate — to another person. In the criminal matter, Singh and Gambhir have denied any wrongdoing. Gambhir is not named in the civil action.

As the…

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Former Ontario bureaucrats charged in alleged $11M COVID-19 fraud are headed back to court


The Ontario bureaucrats fired after the alleged theft of $11 million in provincial COVID-19 relief funds are headed back to court this week as criminal proceedings continue.

Sanjay and Shalini Madan, a married Toronto couple terminated from the public service in 2020 after the alleged fraud, will be in long trial assignment court on Wednesday.

They were charged last September by the Ontario Provincial Police, but their criminal trial might not begin in earnest until September 2023.

Police charged Sanjay Madan with two counts of fraud and two counts of breach of trust. He and Shalini Madan were also charged with laundering the proceeds of crime and possession of stolen property.

Two other men have also been charged in the case.

Toronto’s Vidhan Singh was charged with money laundering, fraud and possession of stolen property. Manish Gambhir of Brampton was charged with possession of stolen property and possession of an identity document related — or purported to relate — to another person.

Chris Sewrattan, Sanjay Madan’s defence lawyer, declined to comment Monday.

In separate Ontario Superior Court filings, the province alleges that “some or all of” the Madans, their adult sons, Chinmaya and Ujjawal, and Singh, funneled millions to thousands of TD, Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada, Tangerine, and India’s ICICI bank accounts in spring 2020.

Chinmaya and Ujjawal do not face any criminal charges, but the parallel civil court case is ongoing.

The province’s allegations against the Madans and Singh have not been proven in civil court.

The criminal charges have also not been proven in court.

Sanjay Madan was fired in November 2020 from a $176,608-a-year job as the Ministry of Education’s information technology leader on the Support for Families program.

That pandemic fund — later enriched and renamed the Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit before being wound down a year ago — gave parents $200 per child under age 12 and $250 per child and youth under 21 with special needs to offset online educational expenses.

In civil court testimony, which may not be used against him in the criminal action if it violates his charter-protected rights against self-incrimination, Sanjay Madan…

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Ontario government worker charged in COVID-19 vaccination data breach


Suspects from the Ottawa and Montreal areas, one of whom worked at a government vaccination call centre, were arrested Tuesday in connection with an OPP investigation into a security breach of Ontario’s COVID-19 immunization system.

The province’s cybercrime team said it started an investigation into a possible data breach on Nov. 17 when the Ontario government flagged reports from the public about spam text messages received after residents booked COVID-19 vaccine appointments or downloaded their vaccination certificates.

On Monday, OPP executed search warrants in Ottawa as well as in Quebec with help from the Sûreté du Québec.

Police said they seized several computers and electronic devices.


Click to play video: 'Ministry confirms possible data breach at Pickering Long-term care home'



Ministry confirms possible data breach at Pickering Long-term care home


Ministry confirms possible data breach at Pickering Long-term care home – May 11, 2020

Ayoub Sayid, a 21-year-old from Gloucester, Ont., is facing charges of unauthorized use of a computer. OPP said in a statement that the suspect is a government employee who worked in the province’s vaccine contact centre.

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Rahim Abdu, 22, of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., faces the same charges.

Both accused have been released with future court dates.

A spokesperson for Ontario Solicitor-General Sylvia Jones said Tuesday that Sayid was working in the call centre through a third-party vendor, “but is no longer employed by the government.”

Spokesperson Stephen Warner also confirmed that “no personal health information was accessed” as part of the breach.

Jones told reporters on Monday that the public can feel secure in using the online vaccination portal.

Read more:
LifeLabs failed to protect personal information of millions, says B.C. and Ontario report

“When we hear of potential breaches, we investigate thoroughly,” she said at a press conference Monday.

“We have confidence in the booking system, that there are no concerns.”

An OPP spokesperson said the cybersecurity unit is still investigating to determine how…

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