Ottawa – Shared Services Canada (SSC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) advised today that they are working to restore CBSA’s ability to process Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests electronically.
On February 8, 2024, information in 40 CBSA servers was made inaccessible during infrastructure maintenance performed by SSC. SSC and CBSA have since been working together and engaging with experts across the government and private sector vendors of the affected systems to understand the issue and impact and work on solutions.
Most of the initially affected databases and applications have been returned to service. Restoration efforts continue on the affected systems, including ATIP. SSC is reviewing change management and system restore procedures to better protect CBSA and GC systems from such incidents going forward.
While the CBSA still has access to the original ATIP requests submitted, at this time the Agency cannot access the information it gathered to respond to those requests. The inaccessible information has not been deleted and no security breach has been identified. However, this situation will result in delays in processing these ATIP requests. The CBSA acknowledges that this will be very frustrating for those awaiting a response to their request.
Individuals can continue to make new ATIP requests through the online portal. The CBSA processed over 300 requests manually last week while restoration efforts continue on approximately 16,000 pending ATIP requests dating back to 2021. The CBSA expects to be able to process about half of its usual volume of 1,200 weekly ATIP requests this week, and will continue to bolster its capacity to process requests impacted by the current situation.
The CBSA has notified the Information Commissioner and the Privacy Commissioner and will continue to keep them fully informed of the situation as it develops. The CBSA is also accelerating the planned implementation of a new ATIP processing system to April 2024, and is increasing its use of automated tools to keep pace with volumes of requests. It will take more time to determine the effectiveness of the restoration efforts. More information will be shared as it becomes available.