PC MLA says hackers accessed and shared intimate images on his devices
CBC
Nova Scotia PC MLA Rick Burns says he and his wife are victims of blackmail after hackers accessed and shared videos and intimate images on his personal devices this week.
"Criminals hacked my email, the hackers requested money and my family refused payment," Burns, who represents Hammonds Plains-Lucasville, said in a news release on Wednesday evening.
"Because we refused payment, the hackers accessed files on my devices. As punishment, personal images and videos of my wife and I were accessed and shared without our consent."
According to the Nova Scotia Legislature's biography for Burns, he is the ministerial assistant for the Department of Cyber Security and Digital Solutions. It said he also has 20 years of experience working in IT and project management.
Burns, who was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 2024, said having the "intimate images" accessed and released is a "gross violation of our privacy and is completely unacceptable."
He said being an elected official comes with increased scrutiny, but "no one signs up for having their privacy violated in this matter and no politician's wife deserves to be targeted in this."
Burns said he has contacted police and they are investigating the incident.
CBC News has reached out to the police and Burns for more details.
"This is bigger than me. This is a gross violation of my wife’s privacy, and we are both victims of a grotesque crime," Burns said.
Premier Tim Houston said in a news release on Wednesday evening that he is "deeply troubled" about the situation.
"No one should ever be subjected to this kind of violation," Houston said.
"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."
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