The provincial development agency e-transferred the funds to an RBC account of a hacker posing as Sandpiper chief financial officer Steven Carr. The hacker appears to have accessed an Invest Nova Scotia employee’s email through a phishing operation, CEO Peter MacAskill told the Halifax Examiner. (Halifax Examiner) 

Talking points: The provincial government agreed in 2021 to provide Sandpiper $5 million, which is held in a trust by Invest Nova Scotia and transferred in tranches to the Halifax venture firm when it identifies a startup to fund. Sandpiper made a legitimate capital call a week before Invest Nova Scotia transferred funds to the hacker’s account. The transfer was discovered two weeks later. MacAskill said the agency then alerted police and the Department of Economic Development. Sandpiper spokesperson Tara Wickwire told The Logic the firm did a third-party review after the breach “out of precaution and diligence” and “confirmed Sandpiper’s data was not impacted.” The firm has since received its $573,000 while Invest Nova Scotia has asked the province’s Supreme Court to require RBC to return the money.