In a significant cybersecurity incident, Trinidad & Tobago’s Telecommunications Services (TSTT) has experienced a severe data breach. The breach has resulted in the exposure of personal data belonging to over a million citizens, including the nation’s Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley.
Critical personal identifiers such as Dr. Rowley’s identification card, driver’s permit, and passport numbers were among the information compromised.
Extent of the leak: A cause for concern
The breach at TSTT has led to 6 gigabytes of personal data being disseminated on the dark web.
This data encompasses 1.2 million names and has alarmingly been downloaded more than 13,000 times, raising significant privacy and security concerns.
Government response to the cybersecurity crisis
In response to the breach, Marvin Gonzales, the Public Utilities Minister, has taken a firm stance, calling for an independent investigation into the cyberattack.
TSTT addresses the breach
TSTT said some of the data had been accessed from a legacy system, which is no longer being used but contains data that is, in many instances, no longer valid.