Vancouver’s QMUNITY hit by cyber-attack, says no personal info compromised

A Vancouver resource centre for 2SLGBTQ+ people in the area has been the target of a cyber-attack.

QMUNITY says as of July 20, the attack had “demobilized” its website, and while back online, is not functioning at full capacity again.

Speaking to CityNews, co-executive director of education and engagement Tracy London said harmful software encoding was embedded into the backend of the webpages, deferring users to download apps and illicit third-party pages.

“This was deeply disconcerting to us, because it affected our ability to serve our queer, trans, and Two-Spirit community. We provide a variety of programs and services that are critical to the mental health and well-being of our communities,” she explained.

In a statement released online, QMUNITY says it understands its responsibility to maintain safe and accessible online spaces that connect members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

London said although there was nothing specific in the attack that indicated it was aimed at the queer community, she noted that there is heightened vigilance across North America in queer organizations due to threats that have been occurring over the last few weeks.

Thank you for your patience as we continue working in response to this cyber-attack. Programs & services will continue to run as normal. pic.twitter.com/UjXXGU0bNU

— QMUNITY (@QMUNITY) July 22, 2022

“Recently, on July 12, OUTLoud North Bay [Ont.] was the recipient of a number of online cyber-attacks. Also recently in Victoria, there was an all-ages drag show that needed to close because of death threats. There was a rainbow crosswalk in Saskatchewan that was defaced with homophobic slurs,” she explained. “And so, I think there’s a heightened sense of queer organizations across North America experiencing a number of different attacks via direct death threats, or the kinds of cyber attacks that closed down the kind of essential services that are provided to queer communities.”

In addition to providing access to peer groups and counselling services, QMUNITY also provides youth and senior programs for those who are most vulnerable.

“We were also concerned about what this meant in terms of how our staff feel, in terms of being on the receiving end of a cyber attack,” she said.

QMUNITY has since been assured by their provider that no client data and personal information was leaked or compromised as part of the hack, “That was, of course, a primary concern to us,” London said.

QMUNITY says it understands its responsibility “to maintain safe and accessible online spaces that connect all members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.”

“This attack on our website is an important reminder of this, and the continuation of threats that exist to safe & accessible 2SLGBTQIA+ online spaces.”

The organization says while its team and service providers are working hard to continue to resolve the issue, there’s no word on who may have hacked their site or if a ransom has been asked of the group.

Programs and services are running as normal, QMUNITY notes, adding questions about times and locations should be emailed reception@qmunity.ca.

– With files from Martin MacMahon