{"id":241873,"date":"2026-07-09T22:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T02:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/09\/govt-probes-cybersecurity-attacks-on-several-ministries-state-agencies\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T22:17:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T02:17:00","slug":"govt-probes-cybersecurity-attacks-on-several-ministries-state-agencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/09\/govt-probes-cybersecurity-attacks-on-several-ministries-state-agencies\/","title":{"rendered":"Govt probes cybersecurity attacks on several ministries, State agencies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Govt probes cybersecurity attacks on several ministries, State agencies<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.guardian.co.tt\/news\/govt-probes-cybersecurity-attacks-on-several-ministries-state-agencies-6.2.2623562.5adb2bd024<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-07-09 22:17:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.guardian.co.tt<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. Jesse RamdeoSe\u00adnior Re\u00adporterjesse.ramdeo@cnc3.co.ttGov\u00adern\u00adment is mon\u00adi\u00adtor\u00ading a se\u00adries of cy\u00adber\u00adse\u00adcu\u00adri\u00adty in\u00adci\u00addents that have af\u00adfect\u00aded sev\u00ader\u00adal min\u00adistries and State agency web\u00adsites, with Min\u00adis\u00adter of Pub\u00adlic Ad\u00admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion and Ar\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adcial In\u00adtel\u00adli\u00adgence Do\u00adminic Smith as\u00adsur\u00ading that in\u00adves\u00adti\u00adga\u00adtions are un\u00adder\u00adway to de\u00adter\u00admine the ex\u00adtent of the breach\u00ades.The is\u00adsue was first pub\u00adlicly high\u00adlight\u00aded by Trinidad and To\u00adba\u00adgo IT con\u00adsul\u00adtant Shiv\u00adam Teelucks\u00adingh, who has been doc\u00adu\u00adment\u00ading a re\u00adcent in\u00adcrease in com\u00adpro\u00admised web\u00adsites across the coun\u00adtry and wider Caribbean.Speak\u00ading with Guardian Me\u00addia yes\u00adter\u00adday, Smith said au\u00adthor\u00adi\u00adties are aware of the re\u00adcent ser\u00advice dis\u00adrup\u00adtions but stressed that pre\u00adlim\u00adi\u00adnary find\u00adings sug\u00adgest they were not so\u00adphis\u00adti\u00adcat\u00aded, tar\u00adget\u00aded cy\u00adber\u00adat\u00adtacks.\u201cI\u2019m aware of the ser\u00advice dis\u00adrup\u00adtions. Some are re\u00adlat\u00aded to main\u00adte\u00adnance is\u00adsues in\u00advolv\u00ading third-par\u00adty ser\u00advice providers. The cy\u00adber in\u00adci\u00addents do not ap\u00adpear to be tar\u00adget\u00aded at\u00adtacks but rather the ex\u00adploita\u00adtion of known vul\u00adner\u00ada\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adties by ma\u00adli\u00adcious bots,\u201d Smith said.He added that the Trinidad and To\u00adba\u00adgo Cy\u00adber Se\u00adcu\u00adri\u00adty In\u00adci\u00addent Re\u00adsponse Team (TT-CSIRT) and oth\u00ader rel\u00ade\u00advant agen\u00adcies are ac\u00adtive\u00adly work\u00ading with stake\u00adhold\u00aders to re\u00adstore ser\u00advices and in\u00adves\u00adti\u00adgate the in\u00adci\u00addents.\u201cAt the mo\u00adment, TT-CSIRT and the rel\u00ade\u00advant agen\u00adcies are ac\u00adtive\u00adly work\u00ading with stake\u00adhold\u00aders to re\u00adsolve the is\u00adsues. More broad\u00adly, this high\u00adlights the need for a whole-of-gov\u00adern\u00adment ap\u00adproach to strength\u00aden\u00ading IT ser\u00advices, and work in that area is al\u00adready un\u00adder\u00adway.\u201dAsked whether any sen\u00adsi\u00adtive or per\u00adson\u00adal in\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion may have been com\u00adpro\u00admised, Smith said au\u00adthor\u00adi\u00adties have not yet reached a con\u00adclu\u00adsion.\u201cThere is an ac\u00adtive as\u00adsess\u00adment be\u00ading un\u00adder\u00adtak\u00aden by agen\u00adcies,\u201d he stat\u00aded.The min\u00adis\u00adter al\u00adso sought to re\u00adas\u00adsure the pub\u00adlic by not\u00ading that the af\u00adfect\u00aded web\u00adsites were not host\u00aded on the Gov\u00adern\u00adment\u2019s Gov\u00adNet in\u00adfra\u00adstruc\u00adture.Mean\u00adwhile, Teelucks\u00adingh said he has ob\u00adserved a sharp rise in cy\u00adber\u00adse\u00adcu\u00adri\u00adty in\u00adci\u00addents in re\u00adcent months, at\u00adtribut\u00ading much of the trend to cy\u00adber\u00adcrim\u00adi\u00adnals in\u00adcreas\u00ading\u00adly us\u00ading ar\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adcial in\u00adtel\u00adli\u00adgence to iden\u00adti\u00adfy weak\u00adness\u00ades in web\u00adsites.\u201cOver the past cou\u00adple of months, I\u2019ve no\u00adticed mul\u00adti\u00adple web\u00adsites be\u00ading com\u00adpro\u00admised, not on\u00adly Gov\u00adern\u00adment web\u00adsites but web\u00adsites across the is\u00adlands and even from in\u00adter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal clients,\u201d he said.Ac\u00adcord\u00ading to Teelucks\u00adingh, hack\u00aders are in\u00adcreas\u00ading\u00adly ex\u00adploit\u00ading out\u00addat\u00aded soft\u00adware, vul\u00adner\u00ada\u00adble plug-ins and poor\u00adly main\u00adtained servers to gain ac\u00adcess to web\u00adsites be\u00adfore redi\u00adrect\u00ading users to fraud\u00adu\u00adlent pages or dis\u00adplay\u00ading de\u00adface\u00adment mes\u00adsages.He point\u00aded to re\u00adcent com\u00adpro\u00admis\u00ades in\u00advolv\u00ading the In\u00addus\u00adtri\u00adal Court, the Ser\u00advice Com\u00admis\u00adsions De\u00adpart\u00adment and the Hous\u00ading De\u00advel\u00adop\u00adment Cor\u00adpo\u00adra\u00adtion\u2019s web\u00adsite, not\u00ading that each ap\u00adpeared to have been ex\u00adploit\u00aded dif\u00adfer\u00adent\u00adly.In one case, a hack\u00ader re\u00adplaced the web\u00adsite with a de\u00adface\u00adment page, while an\u00adoth\u00ader redi\u00adrect\u00aded vis\u00adi\u00adtors to an on\u00adline gam\u00adbling web\u00adsite.Al\u00adthough there is cur\u00adrent\u00adly no in\u00addi\u00adca\u00adtion that cit\u00adi\u00adzens\u2019 per\u00adson\u00adal in\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion has been stolen in the re\u00adcent in\u00adci\u00addents, Teelucks\u00adingh warned that com\u00adpro\u00admised gov\u00adern\u00adment web\u00adsites can still present sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant risks.\u201cPeo\u00adple trust gov\u00adern\u00adment web\u00adsites. Once they\u2019re redi\u00adrect\u00aded else\u00adwhere, they\u2019re more like\u00adly to en\u00adter per\u00adson\u00adal in\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion or fi\u00adnan\u00adcial de\u00adtails with\u00adout re\u00adal\u00adis\u00ading they\u2019re deal\u00ading with crim\u00adi\u00adnals,\u201d he ex\u00adplained.He cau\u00adtioned that at\u00adtack\u00aders could ex\u00adploit pub\u00adlic con\u00adfi\u00addence by cre\u00adat\u00ading con\u00advinc\u00ading phish\u00ading cam\u00adpaigns, sim\u00adi\u00adlar to pre\u00advi\u00adous scams in\u00advolv\u00ading fake tax re\u00adfund emails pur\u00adport\u00ading to come from gov\u00adern\u00adment agen\u00adcies.Teelucks\u00adingh said many of these in\u00adci\u00addents could be pre\u00advent\u00aded through rou\u00adtine cy\u00adber\u00adse\u00adcu\u00adri\u00adty prac\u00adtices, in\u00adclud\u00ading reg\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly up\u00addat\u00ading servers, patch\u00ading vul\u00adner\u00ada\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adties and re\u00admov\u00ading out\u00addat\u00aded soft\u00adware.\u201cThe fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtals are im\u00adpor\u00adtant. If you\u2019re up\u00addat\u00ading your servers, check\u00ading for vul\u00adner\u00ada\u00adble plug-ins and main\u00adtain\u00ading your sys\u00adtems, you can mit\u00adi\u00adgate many of these sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtions,\u201d he said.While wel\u00adcom\u00ading the Gov\u00adern\u00adment\u2019s ac\u00adknowl\u00adedge\u00adment of the in\u00adci\u00addents, the cy\u00adber\u00adse\u00adcu\u00adri\u00adty con\u00adsul\u00adtant be\u00adlieves a broad\u00ader re\u00adview is nec\u00ades\u00adsary.\u201cI think they need to do a full au\u00addit of gov\u00adern\u00adment ser\u00advices, whether host\u00aded by third par\u00adties or in-house, and dou\u00adble and triple-check every\u00adthing, from lo\u00adgins to plug-ins and serv\u00ader con\u00adfig\u00adu\u00adra\u00adtions,\u201d he said.He al\u00adso called for stronger co\u00ador\u00addi\u00adna\u00adtion across Gov\u00adern\u00adment agen\u00adcies, say\u00ading in\u00adcon\u00adsis\u00adtent cy\u00adber\u00adse\u00adcu\u00adri\u00adty prac\u00adtices could ex\u00adpose cit\u00adi\u00adzens to un\u00adnec\u00ades\u00adsary risks.Among the is\u00adsues he high\u00adlight\u00aded was the re\u00adport\u00aded use of gener\u00adic Gmail ac\u00adcounts for com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtion in re\u00adla\u00adtion to some gov\u00adern\u00adment pro\u00adgrammes, ar\u00adgu\u00ading that of\u00adfi\u00adcial cor\u00adre\u00adspon\u00addence in\u00advolv\u00ading sen\u00adsi\u00adtive per\u00adson\u00adal in\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion should in\u00adstead be con\u00adduct\u00aded through ver\u00adi\u00adfied gov\u00adern\u00adment email do\u00admains.Teelucks\u00adingh said the re\u00adcent in\u00adci\u00addents should serve as a re\u00adminder that cy\u00adber\u00adse\u00adcu\u00adri\u00adty is no longer sole\u00adly a tech\u00adni\u00adcal is\u00adsue but a mat\u00adter of pub\u00adlic trust.\u201cI\u2019m try\u00ading to work with any en\u00adti\u00adties will\u00ading to ad\u00address these is\u00adsues so we can mit\u00adi\u00adgate the risks. At the end of the day, the ob\u00adjec\u00adtive is to pro\u00adtect cit\u00adi\u00adzens.\u201dAu\u00adthor\u00adi\u00adties have not in\u00addi\u00adcat\u00aded when the af\u00adfect\u00aded web\u00adsites will be ful\u00adly re\u00adstored, but in\u00adves\u00adti\u00adga\u00adtions in\u00adto the in\u00adci\u00addents and any po\u00adten\u00adtial im\u00adpact on users re\u00admain on\u00adgo\u00ading.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Govt probes cybersecurity attacks on several ministries, State agencies https:\/\/www.guardian.co.tt\/news\/govt-probes-cybersecurity-attacks-on-several-ministries-state-agencies-6.2.2623562.5adb2bd024 Publish Date: 2026-07-09 22:17:00 Source…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[30,24],"class_list":["post-241873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cybersecurity","tag-breach","tag-cybersecurity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241873"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241873\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}