
HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – The government has acknowledged that it is experiencing “some challenges” with its information technology (IT) system and is pointing an accusing finger at Russia.
“There has been an incident affecting the Bermuda government and some other regional governments.
“Our initial indication is it’s come from an external source, most likely from Russia, and we are working with agencies to make sure that we can identify any particular challenges and ensure that services are restored as quickly as possible,” Premier David Burt has said.
Burt said that while the government is in the early stages of confirming what happened on Thursday afternoon, no digital information had been lost.
The incident led to Thursday’s postponement of the sitting of the House of Assembly.
The government had earlier advised the public that its telephone, internet, and e-mail systems were disrupted and that all departments were affected.
The Bermuda Police Service (BPS) said that its services were functioning and that emergency and non-emergency telephone numbers were operating as usual.
Premier Burt said that various teams were working with “local partners, engaging all hands, overseas partners, and there may be a need to engage further” to establish the source of the incident.
He said the Minister of Tourism and the Cabinet Office, Vance Campbell, who oversees IT, would be able to provide an update “as things become more apparent.
“What we are focused on right now is ensuring we identify any challenges. It does not at this point appear that any data has been taken at this point, but it does appear that systems are affected.
“We are trying to identify which systems are affected, which ones are not so that we can return to servicing persons, so people at TCD, people at immigration, et cetera, can get the government services they rely on.”
He said the Ministry of National Security will consult with external agencies, adding, “We know at least one other country that has been affected; suspected on the same level of attack.
“There’s been a significant investment made recently to improve government security, recognizing and understanding that we’ve been moving many items to the cloud.“Cloud services have not been affected.”