Police say hacker wanted bitcoin payment from blackmailed N.S. legislator

HALIFAX — RCMP say a hacker behind a blackmail attempt on a member of the Nova Scotia legislature was trying to extort bitcoin.

Rick Burns, who represents Hammonds Plains-Lucasville, said in a statement Wednesday that criminals hacked his email this week and requested money, which his family refused to pay. As punishment, the ministerial assistant for cybersecurity and digital solutions said the hackers released personal photos and videos of him and his wife.

Although Burns mentioned multiple hackers, the RCMP referenced just one. The Mounties said they were contacted about a hack of an MLA’s computer on Tuesday and that they’re working with the Halifax Regional Police’s digital forensic unit. Police declined to say if the hacker was an international or domestic actor, saying that’s part of an ongoing investigation.

But the RCMP confirmed the hacker allegedly asked Burns to pay in bitcoin.

The Progressive Conservative caucus office also declined to provide more information, citing the investigation.

“When criminals target public officials with blackmail, they are attempting to compromise the people Nova Scotians have chosen to represent them and shake the very core of our democracy,” Premier Tim Houston said in a statement Wednesday.

“We cannot and will not accept a climate where serving your community in public life makes you and your family a target for extortion.”

The premier’s office said Thursday that staffers at the Department of Cyber Security and Digital Solutions were sending updated guidance to government employees and all MLAs about risks and threats on issues such as phishing awareness and password security.

“We take this matter seriously. Because it involves MLA Burns’ personal device, the appropriate cybersecurity officials are aware of the incident and continue to monitor and assess it as needed,” said Houston’s office.

A report last year from the Communications Security Establishment of Canada said ransomware attacks are increasing and will likely remain a challenge with the continued development of technologies like artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. It said ransomware attacks have increased by an average of 26 per cent every year since 2021. In 2023, it said total recovery costs from cybersecurity incidents doubled to $1.2 billion.

“Cyber threat actors have, and will continue to, evolve their (tactics, techniques, and procedures), including extortion tactics and victim demography, to increase the impact of their attacks and their opportunities to reap financial reward,” says the organization’s 2025-27 ransomware threat outlook.

The establishment says cyber attacks are also targeting Canada’s critical infrastructure like power, water and finance systems, with both state-sponsored and non-state actors taking part.

Last year Nova Scotia Power was targeted in a cyberattack its CEO said was likely conducted by a Russian-based actor. The incident disrupted the utility’s billing for the better part of a year and the personal data of 280,000 customers was accessed.

There have also been other reported incidents involving the personal safety of politicians. Earlier this month Burns’ Progressive Conservative colleague, cabinet minister Kim Masland, said she was taking more precautions after a man was arrested trying to enter her Liverpool, N.S. home through the back door. Masland said she wasn’t at home at the time, but became aware of the incident through her home security system.

Speaker of the house, Danielle Barkhouse, introduced temporary restrictions limiting public access to certain areas inside the legislature this month citing growing safety concerns following a week of protest rallies objecting to millions of dollars of cuts in the government’s deficit budget.

In 2023, a man was arrested after allegedly attacking an assistant and a student at MLA Brendan Maguire’s constituency office. The assistant said the attacker held her by the throat against a hallway wall before releasing her when the student threatened to call police. She said the man threw equipment, knocked over a Christmas tree, smashed photos and upended a desk before leaving.

Alex Marland, a political scientist with Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., said that he’s had a number of politicians tell him harassment and death threats have become normal. He said people are choosing not to get involved in politics, in part because of negativity directed toward politicians and their staff on social media.

“I think a lot of people who are interested in possibly getting involved in politics aren’t aware of how bad it is until they get elected or until they run for office. That’s when it becomes eye-opening,” Marland said in an interview Thursday.

“So there’s an awful lot of people who go into it with sort of rose-coloured glasses or are not used to that kind of thing. And then once you’re involved in politics, once you get elected, that’s when things get really nasty, especially when difficult decisions get made.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 19, 2026.

— With files from Lyndsay Armstrong.

Devin Stevens, The Canadian Press