The Immigration and Refugee Board’s website is back in service Friday afternoon, after it was taken offline following a concern over cybersecurity.
Official information about Canada’s asylum system had been inaccessible online since Sunday when the refugee board removed its website after it was notified by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, part of the federal agency responsible for cybersecurity, of potential threats.
Adjudicating asylum claims is one of the key functions of the refugee board, and its case files contain highly sensitive and confidential information of people seeking Canada’s protection.
“It’s a big deal already that the website has been down for a week,” said Adam Sadinsky, a spokesperson for the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers.
“That’s also where a lot of information for self-represented claimants can be found. So people who have had hearings this week and may have wanted to go to the board’s website to find information about the hearing process in general may not have been able to access that information.”
The refugee board had told the Star earlier that its operations had not been affected by the threats.
“Hearings information sharing and communication with counsel and clients have not been impacted,” it said in an email. “No data was compromised.”
The secure, online platform for claimants, applicants and appellants, as well as counsel, to submit documents and communicate with the board also has not been affected, it added.
However, Sadinsky said the board’s website most importantly contains the “national documentation package,” which are curated human rights reports and government documents that set out the up-to-date factual background about country conditions. Parties reference the information for their cases.
“Those documents are not accessible anymore,” he said before the refugee board website was restored. “It’s causing claimants and counsel to have to ask for extensions, time to provide information and delays of hearings. It’s a concern within the community.”
Nicholas Keung is a ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½-based reporter covering immigration
for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: .
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