By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Water and Sewerage Corporation’s general manager yesterday said it is still “actively addressing” the impact from a ransomware cyber attack that occurred last month.

Robert Deal said the state-owned water utility is working with the National Computer Incident Response Team of the Bahamas (CIRT-BS), as well as the Royal Bahamas Police Force and international partners, to ensure its operating systems and client information is protected following the attack and moving forward.

“With respect to the recent cyber security event that occurred in mid-March, the Corporation is actively addressing it. We’re working with local and international partners and ensuring that the Corporation’s critical systems and critical data, both for our operations but also our customers’ information, is well protected and so that’s our ongoing process,” said Mr Deal.

“We’ve made tremendous strides with respect to resolution thus far, and there’s still some steps that remain outstanding. We are actively working on those with the National Computer Centre, and also with the Royal Bahamas Police Force, but also we have several international partners who are assisting us with resolution”

The Water & Sewerage Corporation revealed last month that a ransomware cyber attack resulted in “an unauthorised breach of our internal data systems”, and local and international partners were made aware as soon as the violation was discovered.

“At this stage, we have no evidence that any customer data has been accessed. However, as a precautionary measure, we are urging all customers to remain vigilant over the coming days and weeks. We encourage customers to exercise caution when clicking on suspicious e-mail links or responding to messages requesting personal or financial information,” the Water & Sewerage Corporation said in a statement.

“Our team continues to monitor the situation closely, and we are taking all necessary steps to ensure our systems are fully secure. We remain committed to transparency, accountability and the safety of our customers’ information.”

Mr Deal also confirmed that the Water & Sewerage Corporation and the Government are in discussions with Aqua Design about “their future here in The Bahamas” after obtaining an injunction against the reverse osmosis plant operator to prevent it from closing down and abandoning its San Salvador plant. 

“There have been some stories in the media recently, and so the Corporation is working closely with the Government of the Bahamas, including the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Attorney General. We are in very high-level discussions with Aqua Design regarding their future here in The Bahamas,” said Mr Deal.

Aqua Design supplies water to Water & Sewerage customers from seven Family Island reverse osmosis plants located in Exuma, Eleuthera, San Salvador and Inagua. Last year, Clay Sweeting, minister of works and Family Island affairs, and Leon Lundy, minister of state in the Office of the Prime Minister, warned that the contract with Aqua Design Bahamas could be terminated if the latter did not improve.

“The level of service provided by Aqua Design Bahamas is unacceptable and does not meet the standards we expect in The Bahamas,” they said.

“The Government will thoroughly revisit the contractual arrangements with Aqua Design Bahamas. If the current arrangement proves inadequate to meet the needs of our people, we will take the necessary steps to seek alternative solutions that ensure consistent and reliable water services.”