A new global online security threat has the New Brunswick government taking preventative measures.
The province said Monday that it has temporarily deactivated some of its online services to apply corrective patches.
Experts have identified a “critical, internet vulnerability” in Log4j, a widely developed Java-based logging tool. They say the vulnerability could allow attackers to take full control of a target system.
Erika Jutras, a spokesperson for the Department of Finance and Treasury Board, said the province first became aware of the threat on Dec. 10.
“There is no indication that provincial government services have been impacted, however, some applications and services have been taken offline to apply corrective patches,” said Jutras in a statement.
“Government staff continue to follow developments closely and are working to assess and mitigate any risks to provincial government websites and applications.”
No information was released on which services are affected or how long they may be offline.
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security is urging organizations of all types to follow the recommended guidance and report any incidents to them as soon as possible.
