NewsDay TT published a post on October 22, 2020, authored by Carla Bridglal about Cybercrime being under-reported.
There is no conclusive evidence of cyberattacks and ransomware at Trinidad and Tobago Police Service because local companies tend not to report to the authorities. However, there is some evidence that indicates the increased presence of these attacks on companies, proclaimed by Sgt Hernandez, head of cyber and social media.
Key points
- The head of cyber and social media Sgt Hernandez stated that Companies that are being victims of ransomware attacks tend not to report the crime and therefore there are no official records of cyberattacks. He further stated that the lack of report to the Trinidad and Tobago Service is caused by companies being worried about their reputation. However, Sgt Hernandez claims incidents of dangerous malware are presently occurring and globally increases.
- According to Newsday an incident including ANSA MCAL had become compromised by a ransomware attack by known cybergang REvil. They admitted that the IT system in Barbados and Trinidad had a “security incident” but is now operational again.
- There are no laws in the legislation that directly address cybercrime and therefore police must work with existing laws such as the Computer Misuse Act and Offences of Person Act.
- According to Sgt Hernandez, technology is dynamic and anything he can recommend to the companies being affected could become obsolete the next day. However, he did indicate that the offsite copies of data(backups) are essential in system restoration even if held to ransom.
Reference: newsday.co.tt
Contributed by: Contributed by Kyle Sterling from Jamaica. Kyle is a member of our Caribbean Cyber Support Team (CCST) initiative on Discord. CCST is a collaborative group on the Discord platform for Caribbean people interested in IT, from beginners to experts.
If you’re from the Caribbean, learn more and join the group by visiting caribbeancst.org.