Durrant Pate/Contributor 

Jamaica-based regional telecoms giant, Digicel, is denying that its Trinidad and Tobago operations were hit by a cyber-attack.

It was being said that Digicel TT suffered a recent cyberattack on the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) by the group, RansomEXX. Digicel TT has declared that it had not been attacked but remains vigilant.

The company reports that it has no known data breaches with Colin Greaves, head of public relations, telling TT Newsday that it has taken a “proactive approach in its threat protection and mitigation management, and while attacks cannot be wholly prevented. In the event that a breach does occur, we promise full transparency in informing the relevant parties and providing guidance on steps to take to help safeguard personal data.”

The telecoms company explains that it did not make payments to criminal organisations but would continue to make every effort to ensure its systems and processes remained robust and secure, so as to stay ahead of malicious actors and keep its customers and employees safe.

Mitigating cyber threats 

According to Greaves, “we pride ourselves on having the highest levels of cyber threat protection and mitigation management in place for the good of the business and our customers. Our ISO 27001 certification, the international standard focused on information security, is testament to the industry leading management systems and practices that we have in place.”

This also includes annual mandatory staff security training, and raising awareness about cyber security threats with customers and the general public, by training sessions and online content. Digicel notes that, “no organisation in the world is immune to cyber attacks, and while Digicel did experience an incident outside of TT several years ago, the affected persons, and government authorities were notified in accordance with the local laws and regulations.”

Digicel argues that cyber criminals often relied on human error as a way to breach systems, so it was vital that everyone remained vigilant while online and avoid suspicious websites, the dark web and downloading information from unknown/unsafe sources.

“In the coming weeks, the public can look out for more information on how they can keep safe online as we expand our public education campaign on cybersecurity,” the telecoms company said in conclusion.