PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands – The Turks and Caicos Islands Government (TCIG) with support from the UK government and enterprise providers has confirmed that several segments of TCIG’s network has been compromised. To mitigate against the cyber breach, a number of digital applications have been temporarily shut down to contain the threat and reduce further exposure.
Impacted ministries and departments have activated their business continuity plans to ensure the public can continue to access Government services. In most instances, this includes implementing manual processes. Consequently, this will result in disruption and delays to service delivery.
Two of the main digital applications impacted are TCIG’s revenue collection and payment systems. Subsequently, the ministry of finance has taken several actions, these include:
- Extending the due date for payment of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Tax (HRTT) until 31st December 2024;
- Engaged outside technical support to facilitate payments of the final batch of the Cost of Living Program and Community Enhanced Projects;
- Redeployed all available Ministry of Finance staff to support the Treasury;
- Exploring several options to ensure vendors receive payment in a timely manner, inclusive of issuing manual checks;
Separately, but related – the ministry of immigration and Border Force has issued instructions on how the public can continue to access their services, including Customs Clearance.
TCIG apologizes for the inconvenience and requests the public’s patience as The Department of Digitization & E-Government Technology (DETI) works to safely and securely restore our systems, while also strengthening the resilience to protect against future attacks.