The website of the Office of the Registrar-General, formerly the Registrar General Department, has been crippled by a cyber-attack that may have compromised reams of highly-sensitive data, multiple sources have revealed.
The office is the Government agency that maintains the official records of all births, marriages, still births and deaths in Jamaica.
The website remains inaccessible up to Wednesday afternoon.
Major Basil Jarrett, director of communications at the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency, confirmed that it “has been notified of a cyber-incident and we are currently preparing to do an assessment”.
Jarrett did not name the agency where the incident occurred.
The breach of the agency’s computer systems was uncovered yesterday, top law enforcement sources told The Gleaner.
“They have people down there investigating. [An] external security team [is] working on it,” said one source.
The Office of the Information Commissioner is yet to respond to questions about whether it has been notified about a data breach at the agency.
Meanwhile, a media release issued today by the agency stated that the cyber attack was detected on Sunday, August 24.
It said its initial assessment indicates that the incident was primarily designed to disrupt the availability of its systems.
Upon detection, our technical team immediately activated our established Incident Response Plan, the office stated.
“This included containing the threat, launching a digital forensic investigation, notifying the relevant regulatory authorities, and beginning the process of systems and operational recovery,” said the agency.
“While no system is fool-proof, we believe the robust security measures we have in place were instrumental in isolating the attack and limiting its impact,” it added.
The office says, given that investigations are still ongoing to determine the full scope of the cyber attack, services may remain temporarily impacted or unavailable.
“We understand that this disruption is an inconvenience to the many individuals and businesses who rely on our services, and we deeply regret any frustration this has caused.”
The agency said it takes the security of its systems and the data of Jamaicans with the utmost seriousness.
“We are committed to learning from this event and continuing to invest in and strengthen our defences to stay ahead of evolving cyber threats.”
– Livern Barrett
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