Quebec may have to shut down some of its websites “preventively” due to a vulnerability affecting Microsoft’s SharePoint service.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, the Ministère de la Cybersécurité et du Numérique (MCN) said that the vulnerability detected last weekend affected systems in a number of Quebec government departments and agencies.
“After becoming aware of the situation, the MCN acted quickly to deploy the necessary measures,” it said.
The ministry said it was conducting investigations and ensuring that solutions were implemented to ensure continuity of services and limit the impact.
“In order to apply the necessary corrective and mitigating measures, various Quebec public administration websites could be closed as of today as a preventive measure,” the ministry said.
On Saturday, Microsoft published an alert for its customers concerning the exploitation of a security flaw in its SharePoint software. The following day, the company updated its recommendations with instructions for resolving the problem.
Companies and government agencies around the world use SharePoint for internal document management, data organisation, and collaboration.
The MCN points out that the Quebec government has set up the Centre gouvernemental de cyberdéfense, which is responsible for protecting government data and analysing the evolution of threats.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
