December 18, 2014 - 1:23 PM
VICTORIA - A computer virus has forced the British Columbia government to shut down its email system, cutting off the information flow for much of the day.
A statement from the Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services says a computer virus caused by a malicious file attachment infected the government's email servers Thursday morning.
Ministry information officer Bette-Jo Hughes says in a statement that out of precaution government email servers are temporarily disabled while work is done to resolve the issue.
She says protection of government data and networks are a top priority and immediate action was taken to reduce exposure to the government network and prevent loss of information.
The statement — which was hand delivered to the media in the legislature's press gallery — doesn't provide information about the identity of the malicious file attachment.
Hughes says they're working to restore the service as quickly as possible.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014