PUBLIC Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales said there is no credible information in the public domain about the Prime Minister's personal information being compromised as a result of a cyber attack on the Telecommunications Services of TT (TSTT) on October 9.
He made this statement in response to a question from Opposition Senator Jearlean John in the Senate on Tuesday.
"I have information that the report in yesterday's (Monday) Guardian that refers to one Keith Rowley (personal data being breached) is not that of the Honourable Prime Minister."
Gonzales also said he has no report which indicates that personal data belonging to cabinet ministers or parliamentarians were compromised in that incident either.
Reiterating that Government regards the cyber attack as a serious matter, Gonzales said Government has mandated TSTT's board of directors to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into this incident.
The board, he continued, has taken steps towards facilitating the start of this probe.
Gonzales said, " Additionally, TSTT is still in the process of evaluating all aspects of the attack, including the validation of all reported information in the public domain, that is, the personal data of all our citizens, inclusive of members of the Cabinet and parliamentarians."
That exercise is being done on a customer-by-customer basis.
Gonzales said, "At this point in time, I do not have any report before me that confirms that the personal information of members of parliament has been affected by this data breach."
As the results of the investigation become available, Gonzales promised "to provide further clarity on this ongoing situation to the national community."
John was not satisfied with Gonzales' response.
She said, "The Minister appears to be the last man to know the goings-on at TSTT. I don't understand what the Minister is saying."
Senate President Nigel De Freitas disallowed statements by Opposition Senator Anil Roberts that TSTT's board misled the Cabinet about the cyber attack and should not be part of the investigation into it.
Gonzales said that the plethora of questionable reports in the media on this incident "warrants an independent and thorough investigation so that we can truthfully report to the public on this very critical issue."
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