V.I. Port Authority logo. Photo Credit: ERNICE GILBERT FOR VI CONSORTIUM
The Virgin Islands Port Authority on Thursday afternoon announced that its systems were recently breached, though the authority said the incident, which remains under investigation, did not appear to have included any financial loss.
"Our security team took immediate action to address the incident, notified law enforcement, and are continuing to investigate," the authority said in a statement to the media. "Based upon initial investigation there has been no loss of financial assets."
V.I.P.A. added, "It is important to note that at this time, there is no evidence that personal data has been acquired or misused by an unauthorized actor as a result of this incident. Upon completion of the investigation, any individuals whose information was involved will be contacted."
The scope of the data breach has not yet been determined, Monifa Brathwaite, Port Authority public information officer told the Consortium Thursday. Yet while the personal data of V.I.P.A. employees have not been misused and V.I.P.A. says there's no evidence so far that such information was stolen, the authority could not say for sure what, exactly, was exposed.
The Port Authority has over 300 employees spanning a number of arms, including marine and airport facilities. Ms. Brathwaite said there wasn't much the authority could divulge since the investigation is ongoing. However, "I do know that based upon the investigation thus far there has been no loss or financial assets," she stated.
"It's under investigation; we have folks looking at it. So far at least the important thing for us is that no financial information seems to be compromised, nor any personnel information," Port Authority Executive Director, Carlton Dowe, told the Consortium Thursday evening.
The Consortium learned that the authority has data breach attorneys on the U.S. mainland looking into the incident who urged the authority not to say much, contending that the hackers may act upon information released in the public.
The breach, detected during the first week of February, prompted the authority to take its systems offline while the matter was being investigated.
