The Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) is currently investigating a data breach, a matter that was brought to the public’s attention earlier this week.
Marsha Caddle, the Minister of Innovation, provided an update on the situation, noting that they are required by law to inform the public about the breach, which they have done.
The BRA, with the support of the Ministry of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology as a regulatory agency in this matter, has also notified the Office of the Data Commissioner to ensure compliance with data protection legislation.
In response to the breach, an incident response team has been established, comprising of forensic and cybersecurity experts who are actively conducting the investigation.
Minister Caddle highlighted the increasing threat of cyberattacks in both public and private sectors, referencing similar incidents this year involving the IRS in the United States, the BBC in the UK, and Amazon.
“We continue to strengthen security, particularly of critical government data and systems. As we do so, we realize that in the public and private sphere, cyber is a new and increasing line of attack against which we will have to defend. The IRS in the US learned that this year, when they had their own data breach, as did the BBC in the UK and Amazon. Our duty and commitment are to do everything we can to secure our data and systems in advance, and where we may need to respond to threats, to have a rapid, sure and reliable system, so to do.”
Minister Caddle states that they are treating the situation as a matter of national security, and therefore allowing the response team the necessary time to carry out a thorough investigation.
Further updates will be shared as more information becomes available.
