For weeks, internet access and other infrastructure has been disrupted in the Caribbean Island of Martinique.
Martinique, in the out most rim of the European union and controlled by France has a population of about 360,000. The council that governs Martinique said, that a Cyberattack has immensely disrupted the norm of the community and impacting partners and users alike.
The attack has officials faced with isolating the systems that are known to be affected, meanwhile experts in the field of cyber security were mobilized to help restore their operations.
Technical solutions are adopted to reinstate internet access to educational services, such as high schools and colleges.
Protocols are in place by the government and school administration to enable the smooth handling of exams.
Due to the failure of online platforms, an old school approach has been adapted temporally, with regard to financial services. Paper format will be utilized for Financial, Aid and Subsidy services.
The French foreign minister and the islands government did not comment on the situation. As some government offices were closed and the official website is still inactive.
While insufficient information is furnished regarding the current state of government establishments, the government issued a briefing regarding cyberattacks, stating that several cyberattacks have struck local communities, freezing their computer systems.
Recommendations were provided by France’s National Agency for Information System Security (ANSSI), urging organizations to issue guides to workers regarding cyber hygiene and stress on using security tools, such as antivirus software, firewalls and intrusion detection programs.
The instructions indicates that victims should shutdown any computer device suspected of being under attack from the larger network, and immediately contact their IT specialist as well as the local police.
Reports indicate that Rhysida Ransomware group has taken credit for the attack on the island’s systems. Much of the stolen files that was leaked, to be government information.
Little is known regarding the group operations, there are reports that indicate that the group masquerades as a cybersecurity team, helping victims with potential ramifications of the involved security issues.
