Wheatley demands more info on MultiLink breach

MINISTER without portfolio with responsibility for science, technology and special projects in the Office of the Prime Minister, Dr Andrew Wheatley has given Jamaica Electronic Transfer Services Limited (JETS) seven days to provide him with a comprehensive report on the cyber incident on its system last week. In a media release last Friday JETS, which operates Jamaica’s MultiLink debit card and Automated Clearing House (ACH) networks, confirmed that sections of its system had been the subjected to a cyberattack. According to JETS, the cyber attack involved a limited part of its internal administrative systems but the MultiLink and ACH networks were not affected and both remained fully operational.

On Monday Wheatley said that in a letter dated October 24 he wrote to JETS Chief Executive Officer Edmundo Jenez and Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor Dr R Brian Langrin seeking further information on the cyberattack. Wheatley noted that JETS operates the MultiLink network and, under management contract, ACH, which the BOJ recognises as a systemically important retail payment system. He said given the critical infrastructure nature of these systems and the payment card and customer data in JETS’s custody, the Government regards the incident as a matter of national concern. “Jamaicans rely on these networks every day to get paid, pay their bills, and buy what they need. When an operator of systems this important experiences a breach, the Government and the public are entitled to a full account of what happened, who was affected, and what is being done to ensure it does not happen again,” Wheatley said. He has requested that JETS, with the support of the BOJ in the exercise of its oversight of the national payment system, submit a written report no later than October 31. According…