HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – The Bermuda government has maintained its silence on whether or not a ransom has been made as the British Overseas Territory continues to grapple with a “cyber attack” that severely hampered government information systems.
Premier David Burt told reporters that while there has been ”a whole lot of speculation” regarding the cyber attack last Thursday, “our focus is ensuring we get government systems up and running safely.”
Unlike last week, when he said, “At this point, it appears that any data has been taken,” Premier Burt refused on Monday during the news conference whether there had been a data breach.
“The investigation efforts are ongoing, and it would not be wise for me to comment on specifics now. Once the investigation is done, we will do our responsibility to be fully transparent,” he said.
He told reporters there was “some information that I will not be able to divulge at this time,” adding that several affected offices were back online.
But he acknowledged that the attack had brought “unprecedented stress” across the government system, calling it a national security issue.
“I want to reassure you that there has been a non-stop effort to identify what happened, how it happened, and resume business and normal operations safely,” he said, adding that the relevant authorities, including the police and the Department of Information and Digital Technology, have been tackling the problem.
“Once it became clear that this was not an ordinary interruption to the network, by best practices, all government network users were immediately directed to disconnect and shut down all devices connected to the network.”
Burt said the entire Cabinet had met four times since Thursday. Governor Rena Lalgie is reported to have met with the Premier, the Attorney-General, the national security minister, and the Tourism and Cabinet Office minister.
Last Friday, Lalgie said that cybersecurity teams in Britain were assisting in finding a solution, confirming the government IT systems were subjected to a “major cyberattack” and “that incident is ongoing.
“While there was an early indication of the geographical source of that attack, any further speculation on the possible source or motivation for the attack would be unhelpful,” she said.
Burt, who said it would be “inappropriate” to discuss what was said in the meeting, told reporters that just as weekly-paid government workers were paid on Friday and Saturday, monthly-paid employees would have their pay as scheduled at the end of this week.
He said transport, education, and the hospital were “operating without interruption,” and the government was “working on a timeline that persons can follow,” insisting that the “next several days will be critical” for recovery and “no resources are being spared.”
But, during the news conference, he defended his decision to travel to the United States after the cyber attack to attend the annual meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
“Government leadership is not just about the moment but consistently having an eye on the future,” Burt said, adding that the meetings with “key legislators” had in some cases taken “months to secure” and that discussions to “advance direct foreign investment in Bermuda was necessary.”
He said he had remained “fully connected to the issues at home.”
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