STATEMENT FROM THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS

12/04/2021

The Fijian Government’s ITC Department is managing a cyber incident targeting the government network. The Government’s cyber experts are working closely with its cybersecurity vendors to identify and contain the incident and ensure minimal disruptions to government services.   
 
As a measure of extreme precaution, advice has been disseminated across government to protect network integrity resulting in a temporary disruption to the government network, including GovNet. The network is being gradually brought back online in accordance with the ITC Department’s internationally-recognised security protocols.  Government services may take several days to be fully and securely restored. 
 
A preliminary forensic investigation has revealed that the source of the incident is likely a government server housed separately from the ITC Department. We expect the ongoing forensic investigation to reveal more about the extent of incident in the coming days.
 
Cyber-based threats are growing in scale and complexity globally. Countries, such as the United Kingdom, USA, Australia, and Singapore, as well as multinational corporations, have been the target of a rising number of these increasingly sophisticated attacks. Fiji has developed its cyber security infrastructure in line with international best practices and that has allowed us to respond effectively to past cybersecurity incidents and quickly manage the impact of this incident. As the investigation reveals more about the extent of the incident, our cybersecurity measures will be adapted to evolve alongside new cybersecurity threats.