JERSEY’S Cyber Security Centre found itself on the digital front line dealing with the fallout of multiple incidents that caused disruption on a global scale.
The Island was, for the most part, unaffected by the recent IT outage that hit airlines, media companies and banks around the world – but there were some local issues that cyber experts worked frantically to resolve.
This included delays and disruption at GP surgeries or pharmacies and, in some shops and supermarket stores, Islanders were temporarily limited to cash-only or non-contactless payments.
Those who were travelling were also warned of the IT issues faced by airlines and airports worldwide, which saw flights grounded and significant delays for passengers.
An incident response team was established in Jersey, while the JCSC said it was “working closely” with the government and other agencies.
JCSC director Matt Palmer explained that two cyber incidents “caused widespread disruption on a global scale”.
He said this involved an issue with Microsoft software that had meant that many businesses “lost access to the services they need to run effectively”, while a separate issue with an update to a widely used piece of IT security software also affected a number of machines.
In an update on Friday afternoon, he revealed it had been a particularly busy day for the JCSC, which had also been tackling “two criminal cyber attacks at the same time”.
Referring to the global issues, however, he described the impacts in Jersey – while not unimportant – as “limited”.
He said: “I know incidents like this are disruptive and sometimes upsetting, so I would like to say a big thank you to everyone whose plans have been impacted today for your patience and understanding; as well as to IT, operations and communications teams in organisations who have been working hard to resolve problems and assist anyone impacted.”
Mr Palmer noted that the government, Ports of Jersey and the JCSC had all invoked incident response plans alongside “many private-sector organisations”.
He continued: “We will now be seeking to get a full understanding of impacts across industry so we can better understand and plan for future similar risks.”
