Digicel: We have robust, cyber-secured network

COLIN Greaves, head of public relations at Digicel, claimed the company has a robust cyber-secured network.

His remarks come after a truck pulled down the company’s fibre optic cables on January 23, causing disruption to Digicel+ and Digicel mobile services to south and central Trinidad customers.

In a phone interview with Newsday on January 25, Greaves denied rumours of a cyber-attack.

“The breakdown experienced was definitely a result of a multitude of wires being pulled down at a critical path where our fibre optics run. We had technicians in the field working to secure the site and resolve the issue, which was a physical situation. But on the back end, our network, its performance, security and those things were operating as usual.”

In a statement on January 24, the company said all services were restored and affected customers would be given free data.

“On site, emergency repair teams worked into the wee hours on January 24 splicing, replacing, and re-running new cables. As a goodwill gesture, mobile customers who purchased 1-Day Prepaid Plans but were unable to enjoy the full value of their plans have been given a free 1-Day Plan.

Additionally, Digicel has given prepaid and postpaid customers 5GB of free data until January 25 at 11.59 pm. Postpaid talk and text customers will receive 50 free minutes.”

The release thanked customers for their patience and understanding.

In October, state-owned TSTT was the victim of a cyber attack by the group RansomEXX and has six gigabytes of its customers' data placed on the dark web.

In November, according to a Newsday story, Digicel said it was remaining vigilant but had suffered no data breaches.

In response to WhatsApp messages sent by Newsday, Greaves said:

"Digicel 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."

He claimed the company has the highest levels of cyber threat protection and mitigation management in place for the good of the business and its customers.

“Our ISO 27001 certification, the international standard focused on information security, is a testament to the industry-leading management systems and practices that we have in place. That included annual mandatory staff security training and raising awareness about cyber security threats with customers and the general public through training sessions and online content.”