Cyber Incident Victim: SSQ Insurance
Date:
Dec 2020
Location:
Canada
Summary
A cyber attack disrupted online services for two Canadian insurance companies, causing prolonged paralysis of their websites and telephone systems. Specialists confirmed the incident as an ongoing attack, with the organizations publicly acknowledging the outage as a computer failure. Customers were unable to access digital platforms and customer service channels during the disruption.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On December 4, 2020, SSQ Insurance and La Capitale Insurance experienced a significant disruption to their online services following a computer failure that began the prior morning. Specialists investigating the incident identified the outage as the result of a cyber attack, though specific technical details regarding the attack vector or perpetrator were not publicly disclosed. Patrick Mathieu, co-founder of the Hackfest cybersecurity event, confirmed the ongoing nature of the attacks as of Saturday evening based on information from a trusted source. Both insurers maintained notifications on their websites informing customers of service interruptions affecting online portals and telephone support systems. The incident persisted for multiple days, with no immediate restoration timeline provided to the public during the initial disruption window.
The cyber attack caused operational paralysis across critical customer-facing platforms, preventing policyholders from accessing digital services or reaching representatives via standard communication channels. SSQ Insurance explicitly cited a "computer failure" as the reason for suspending operations, though neither organization released comprehensive statements detailing compromised systems or data integrity concerns. The prolonged outage indicated substantial infrastructure impact requiring extended remediation efforts. While collaboration with cybersecurity specialists occurred, the nature of containment measures or forensic actions remained undisclosed in available reporting. Service restoration timelines and final assessments of data exposure or financial consequences were not documented in the immediate aftermath of the attack.