Good afternoon,
It has been one week since the Government of Bermuda experienced a sophisticated and deliberate cyberattack. Since last Thursday’s discovery and confirmation of the attack, impacted government systems are slowly and efficiently being restored.
Additionally, as I mentioned in Monday’s press conference, the Government is building a new network with enhanced protection and security to mitigate the risk of future attacks.
It is important to reiterate that not all government systems were impacted during this attack.
However, all systems were immediately taken offline, and network use was strategically abandoned to preserve system functionality and contain and isolate the threat from the persons who attacked the Government of Bermuda.
The Government’s focus has been on safely restoring system functionality, particularly those systems that support providing services to the public.
On Monday, I confirmed the engagement of overseas experts to support the work of the Government’s Department of Information and Digital Technology. The work done to date has significantly advanced the restoration and recovery effort.
Some email functionality is already being returned, and systems not impacted by the attack have been brought back online and are operational.
The nature of this sophisticated attack has made it difficult to isolate what data has been compromised versus data that has been encrypted, thereby preventing access.
What has emerged is that the Government of Bermuda is one of a series of recent attacks aimed at other governments and large corporations worldwide. I must be clear that this is an ongoing investigation, so I cannot share any further details at this time.
We know that there has been feedback about the Government only sharing a limited amount of detail thus far, and I absolutely understand that there are still questions that the public would like answered about this incident.
However, it is essential that we maintain the confidentiality of specific operational information to safeguard the ongoing investigation and protect the security of our systems. Again, as the community can appreciate, this remains a very sensitive matter.
To be clear, we have been providing daily updates and assurances both internally and externally to our public officers and stakeholders. We have also provided a mechanism where regular updates on our services are readily available at gov.bm and distributed to the public via the Government’s social media platforms and government WhatsApp as recently as 3 pm today.
Public Officers have been kept updated on the safest means to provide services to the public that require digital systems. They have also been working diligently to ensure that vital services and Government obligations are met as we continue our restoration efforts.
The monthly payroll has been actioned as scheduled this week; financial assistance payments are being made, vehicles are being licensed, and a full array of services are being delivered.
More Government phone systems are being brought back online, and it is expected that the main Government switchboard will be operational, hopefully by tomorrow, but certainly by Monday.
Access to the Government's internal financial systems is also being restored and will be turned on once this process is completed.
The House of Assembly’s systems are being worked on today to ensure that the House can sit as scheduled tomorrow.
I must pay tribute to the women and men of the Department of Information and Digital Technology and the entire Public Service. These public officers have been working day and night since last week to restore Government systems and ensure that the Government continues to function effectively for the people of Bermuda.
The Minister responsible for IDT and I have personally visited the teams that are working in our data centres, often having pulled double shifts to ensure that this attack is met with the resilience that Bermuda is known for.
An unrivalled level of resilience has been demonstrated these last few days, just as it has been shown with the challenges that this Government and our public officers have faced in recent years. Thanks to their hard work and dedication, we continue to deliver the wide variety of services for which the Government is responsible.
The process to return government systems to full capacity must be done in a safe and orderly fashion. On behalf of the Government, I continue to express my appreciation and gratitude to the public for their patience.
I again thank our union partners for their collaboration and the private sector for the support they have given.
This has been a long and challenging week for many. But, I am pleased to say that the sleepless nights and the full team effort from the Cabinet, Public Service Executive, and especially public officers are yielding results, and we are making strides towards restoring our systems and safeguarding the data that has been the subject of this unprecedented attack.
Thank you.