Halifax Water customers will continue to receive paper bills while the utility addresses a recent privacy incident affecting 16 accounts. The utility’s online billing portal has been offline since March due to a vulnerability in the third-party platform, allowing an external party to access personal information linked to the affected accounts.
According to Halifax Water, the breach did not involve the systems controlling water and wastewater services. The accessed information included customer names, email addresses, service/home addresses, account details, and security questions. Fortunately, no financial data was compromised.
Impacted customers were informed in June about the incident and provided guidance on necessary steps. Halifax Water CEO, Kenda MacKenzie, expressed regret over the situation and assured customers that efforts are ongoing to safeguard their interests and handle related matters appropriately.
The utility disclosed that approximately 55,000 customers have online accounts through the portal. Halifax Water reported the vulnerability to the vendor in November 2025, but a subsequent software update in January 2026 exposed the flaw again. Despite the initial fix being effective, further security checks uncovered additional vulnerabilities.
Halifax Water has enhanced its cybersecurity protocols and training to better handle such incidents promptly in the future. The portal remains offline until it can be securely restored, with no specific timeline provided yet. Meanwhile, bills are being sent to customers via mail.
In response to this incident, Halifax Water has taken proactive steps to improve its cybersecurity posture and ensure a more robust response to potential vulnerabilities in the future.