Nova ScotiaPower CEO, staff grilled by politicians over cybersecurity breach – Halifax [Video]

Nova Scotians have lost trust in the province’s largest electric utility, provincial politicians said Wednesday during a heated committee meeting that raised tough questions about the recent ransomware attack on Nova Scotia Power.

The cybersecurity breach gave thieves access to personal and financial data belonging to 280,000 ratepayers — about half of the utility’s customers.

Members of the public accounts committee grilled Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg and two other senior staff members, asking them how the breach happened and what the company will do to protect ratepayers from financial harm.

“We understand it is very concerning, and we’re working hard to address customer issues and to continue to strengthen our systems as we work to restore and rebuild,” Gregg told the committee.

By the time the meeting was over, however, the executives had very little new information to share.

“We have, as far as we understand, 140,000 Nova …