[UPDATED] Gonzales: No confirmation that Prime Minister's data leaked in TSTT hack

PUBLIC Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales says there is no credible information in the public domain about the Prime Minister's personal information being compromised as a result of a cyber attack on the Telcommunications Services of TT (TSTT) on October 9.

He made the statement in response to a question from Opposition Senator Jearlean John in the Senate on Tuesday.

"I have information that the report in yesterday's (Monday) Guardian that refers to one Keith Rowley's (personal data being breached) is not that of the Honourable Prime Minister."

Gonzales also said he had no report which indicated that personal data belonging to cabinet ministers or parliamentarians were compromised in that incident either.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the Dr Rowley confirmed Gonzales' statement, saying "I have confirmed that the information used by the Trinidad Guardian to publish its story was not my data. That data profile of ID and driver's permit is for another family member.

"The latest additional information that is circulating from a stolen spreadsheet is not my bank details. It appears to be my TT Government telephone bill account, which is somewhere in TSTT's system. That piece of data has information which is accurate but not secret."

Rowley said having this data or any other falling into the hands of criminals was deeply disturbing.

"This occurrence should be treated with the greatest competence and utmost sincerity by the company.

"TSTT is also expected to treat this matter as a national security threat and ensure that th epublic trust is restored, preserved, and handled with absolute professionalism."

In the Senate, reiterating that Government regarded the cyber attack as a serious matter, Gonzales said Government had mandated TSTT's board of directors to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into this incident.

The board, he continued, has taken steps towards facilitating the start of the probe.

Gonzales said, " Additionally, TSTT is still in the process of evaluating all aspects of the attack, including the validation of all reported information in the public domain, that is the personal data of all our citizens, inclusive of members of the Cabinet and parliamentarians."

That exercise is being done on a customer by customer basis.

Gonzales said, "At this point in time, I do not have any report before me that confirms that the personal information of members of parliament have been affected by this data breach."

As the results of the investigation become available, Gonzales promised "to provide further clarity on this ongoing situation to the national community."

John was not satisfied with Gonzales' response.

She said, "The Minister appears to be the last man to know the goings-on at TSTT. I don't understand what the Minister is saying."

Senate President Nigel De Freitas disallowed statements by Opposition Senator Anil Roberts that TSTT's board misled the Cabinet about the cyber attack and should not be part of the investigation into it.

Gonzales reiterated that the plethora of questionable reports in the media on the incident "warrants an independent and thorough investigation so that we can truthfully report to the public on this very critical issue."