"Our team is actively working on a resolution of this issue. Although the divisions are faced with this challenge, some manual fixes have been put in place to provide services to the public in the interim. As a result, there will be delays experienced when any service is requested from these two divisions," Roach said in a statement.
It's the latest cyber attack against a Virgin Islands government department, and the breaches have been wreaking havoc on agencies' databases. The V.I. Port Authority said a cyber attack occurred on its network on Jan. 29.
The authority "experienced a security incident involving unauthorized access to its network. VIPA immediately took steps to secure its network, launched an investigation, and a cybersecurity firm was engaged to assist. The incident was also reported to local and federal law enforcement," according to the statement from Port Authority spokeswoman Monifa Marrero-Brathwaite on behalf of Executive Director Carlton Dowe.
The V.I. Water and Power Authority fell prey to an email scam in 2018 that resulted in two wire transfers totaling $2.17 million to accounts controlled by the hackers and subsequently transferred to accounts in China and elsewhere, according to court documents. WAPA sued its insurance company for failing to cover the claim, and recently entered a settlement agreement, the terms of which have not yet been finalized or made public.
The V.I. Police Department suffered ransomware attacks in April and June 2019, and efforts to restore information into the system are ongoing, according to testimony in U.S. District Court regarding the department's compliance with a federal consent decree.
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