Bermuda government departments and services paralysed by a significant cyber attack

The Government of Bermuda said it suffered a significant cyber attack that affected all government departments and its communication services.

In a recent post on X, the government said that all of its departments have been affected by a cyber security incident and that it is “currently experiencing internet/email and phone service interruptions.”

“The Department of Information and Digital Technology (IDT) is working quickly to restore service,” the government said.

 

In a statement shared with the media, David Burt, the Premier of Bermuda, said that the Government of Bermuda has launched an internal investigation to understand the nature and scope of the data security incident. However, it is yet to identify whether any data has been exfiltrated from the government’s servers.

“There has been an incident, which is affecting not only the Bermuda Government but some other regional governments as well,” Burt revealed.

“Our initial indication is that it’s come from an external source, most likely from Russia, and we are working with agencies to make sure that we can identify any particular challenges and make sure that services are restored as quickly as possible,” he added.

The Bermuda Government in another post shared on the social platform on Friday said that it anticipates “further service disruption” due to the network interruption. “Investigation into the incident continues and steps to restore service are ongoing.”

“Work to facilitate payroll and vendor payments has commenced albeit payment delays are expected. Cashiers are accepting cash and checks only at this time. Government House has been apprised of the situation and is working collaboratively with the Government,” the Government added.

 

Earlier this year, the Caribbean Island of Martinique said it suffered a significant cyber attack that disrupted the island’s internet service and other critical infrastructure. In a statement shared with the media on May 24, officials from the island country said that threat actors infiltrated its network on May 16 and “heavily disrupted the activities of the community and directly impacted users and partners.”

According to DataBreaches, a group of threat actors going by the name Rhysida ransomware group has claimed responsibility for the cyber attack on the Island of Martinique and listed it on its data leak site. The group later published the data allegedly stolen from the government, but did not mention the amount of the data stolen or whether a ransom negotiation ever happened between them and the city officials.