Cybercrime

York University says it discovered last month it was subject to a cybersecurity incident that resulted in the theft of personal information, including personal contact details and student identification numbers.

“An unauthorized actor” gained access to online forms used by the university’s departments ranging from 2007 to October this year, the Toronto institution said in a news release on its website. The forms were used in a “wide variety of university business,” including residence applications and general surveys, it said.

Nothing is ever safe on-line.

A second wave of suspected cyberattacks on European supermarkets has exposed a vulnerability that Canada’s food industry should take seriously. Grocery stores in at least nine countries reported refrigeration failures. One Swedish supermarket said its refrigeration systems had been remotely set to 50°C. Across the affected stores, tonnes of food had to be thrown out. An earlier wave had already hit stores in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Blood bank sites in France are the latest to be hit by cyber attackers.

The attack, which affected three regional blood banks, sought to raise temperatures to extremely high levels but was thwarted before it could do any damage, authorities have said.

The incident comes after cyber attacks on Tuesday affected the UK meat processing industry and supermarkets in European countries reported their fridges and freezers warmed up after they were remotely taken over – resulting in spoiled food costing millions of dollars.

h/t Patti Jo

Supermarkets across Europe have been hit by a suspected cyber-attack affecting their fridges and freezers, and raising concern about the vulnerabilities of internet-connected hardware from industrial machinery to humble domestic appliances.

Smart devices which are connected to the internet can include fridges, central heating, and even washing machines.

And while that makes them easier to control remotely, in theory, any device which goes online can potentially be exploited by malicious actors.

Oct. 29 (UPI) — More than 41,000 Department of Homeland Security employees had their personnel records hacked and the information posted online.

Wednesday’s leak contained the work addresses, phone numbers and job descriptions of staff working at the agency, mostly agents at Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the largest and third largest DHS agencies.

The Canadian Centre for Cybersecurity says it is preparing an alert for organizations regarding vulnerabilities in a programming language powering many of the world’s websites.

The developers of PHP, an open-source programming language used to run websites, disclosed Wednesday that they have identified two “critical vulnerabilities,” urging all PHP users to “update immediately.”

A Canadian cybersecurity executive whose career has focused on helping clients negotiate with ransomware attackers has been arrested in the United States in connection with a hacking group that the FBI says stole a huge trove of sensitive data about the bureau’s own employees, according to court records and Reuters.

Canadian cybersecurity executive Edward Dubrovsky, 54, was reportedly arrested in Pennsylvania on federal charges amid an FBI investigation into the ShinyHunters hacking group. https://t.co/minxOmxt7i

— FOX 9 (@FOX9) October 11, 2026

French supermarket chains Intermarché and Cooperative U have been hit by an “unprecedented” cyber-attack that caused their refrigerators to defrost, the two retailers have said.

An estimated 150-200 Intermarché shops were targeted, along with almost 100 Cooperative U outlets, in the attack, they said on Monday.

Paris prosecutors confirmed the attack, which reportedly also hit other major chains, and said it had prompted outbreaks of fire.

h/t Mauser