CBSA Provides Update on IT Systems Outages

The Canada Border Services Agency is blaming “unforeseen technical problems” for recent IT systems outages that resulted in delays for travellers.

These outages started following routine systems maintenance on Sunday, September 28 and the agency says they were not the result of a cyberattack.

While the initial outages were resolved within 48 hours, the CBSA says the impacts on kiosks at airports and on commercial processing at some ports of entry continued as it worked to address backlogs.

“During the outages, the agency worked with airport authorities and bridge and tunnel operators to manage delays and complete screening and verifications,” the CBSA said in a statement. “Lanes were fully staffed with border services officers who were manually processing travellers, traffic and shipments, as fast as possible while ensuring safety and security.”

The agency now reports that regular operations have resumed, traveller and commercial volumes are back to normal and systems are back to service standards. “We continue to investigate the causes of the outages and will provide a report to the Minister of Public Safety within 30 days,” the CBSA said.