Canada Child Benefit Payments Delayed Due to Global IT Outage, Says Federal Government

Impact on Canada Child Benefit Payments

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has initiated the distribution of Canada Child Benefit (CCB) payments. However, the federal government has alerted recipients that these payments might experience delays due to a worldwide IT outage that commenced on Friday.

CRA’s Response and Government Assurance

Minister of National Revenue, Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced on social media that the CRA itself is unaffected by the global IT outage and has dispatched CCB payments to all eligible families. Nonetheless, Bibeau acknowledged the federal government’s awareness of potential difficulties that some banks might face in processing these payments. The government is committed to collaborating with banks to ensure smooth transactions.

Widespread Disruption Across Industries

The global IT outage has significantly disrupted multiple sectors. Airlines have halted flights, broadcasters have gone off-air, and various industries, from banking to healthcare, are grappling with system issues.

Cause of the IT Outage

According to Crowdstrike, a global cybersecurity firm, their Falcon Sensor software caused crashes in Microsoft Windows systems, resulting in the infamous “blue screen of death.” George Kurtz, CEO of Crowdstrike, stated on social media that the company is actively working with affected customers to address a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. He clarified that Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted and emphasized that this is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed.

Canadian Government and Cybersecurity Measures

The Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada’s signals intelligence agency, reported that the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security has contacted Crowdstrike, offering assistance if needed. The CSE reassured Canadians that this situation does not appear to be a cybersecurity incident. They are collaborating with Government of Canada partners to evaluate any potential impacts.

Kurtz further assured that while some systems might not automatically recover, Crowdstrike is committed to ensuring that every customer fully recovers from this issue.