TSTT to submit report into 2023 cybersecurity breach to minister today

THE Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (TSTT) has said it will submit the final report on the investigation into the 2023 cybersecurity breach and the circumstances surrounding the incident to the Minister of Public Utilities, Marvin Gonzales, on January 23.

In a release on January 23, TSTT said it received the report on January 21 and will submit the documents and findings to Gonzales for his review.

On October 9, 2023, TSTT reported that cyber attackers had tried to gain unauthorised access to its systems.

The ransomware attack led to six gigabytes of customer data being stolen and posted on the dark web.

The company said, "At the onset of the threat, TSTT’s incident response processes were swiftly activated. The company took immediate steps to minimise the security vulnerability, successfully isolating its systems and applications.

"These systems were subsequently quarantined, rebuilt and put back into production as part of clearly defined policies and procedures."

However, there were reports of miscommunication between then-TSTT CEO Lisa Agard and Gonzales, ultimately resulting in Agard's leaving TSTT.

Commenting on the issue, Gonzales said the TSTT cyber attack "warrants an independent and thorough investigation so that we can truthfully report to the public on this very critical issue."

In November 2023, he mandated TSTT to do such a probe.