A leading union official says he will continue to question how a cyberattack on the Government happened in an effort to help protect his members.

Details of the disruption first emerged at a press conference on September 22 when David Burt said a suspected cyberattack from Russia could have been the cause of a breakdown in IT systems.

There was a lingering effect on government services, with the Department of Immigration saying last week it worked through a backlog of work-permit applications that built up after the attack.

Kevin Grant, the general secretary of the Bermuda Public Services Union, said yesterday that since the incident he still had no idea what happened.

“Mom's been the word all around. You guys [The Royal Gazette] couldn't get anything from the Premier and we couldn't get anything either,” he said.

The union official added: “It's raised at our executive and we want to make sure that this sort of thing doesn't happen again and we want to play our part in making sure it doesn't happen again.

“But how it happened and why it happened, we need to have that conversation.”

Asked if it was something the BPSU would raise in its quarterly meetings with the Premier, Mr Grant said: “It's important to, number one, make sure that it doesn't happen again.

“And number two, because of the fact that my member or whoever's going to be in charge of that particular area may be held responsible for something that really wasn't his fault.”

He added it was “very critical” that the unions and the Government were “on the same page as far as moving forward with this cybersecurity”.

Mr Grant, who was also a former BPSU president, said feedback on the issue had come from the vice-presidents who represent different areas of the union’s activities.

He highlighted: “They have been saying what's the next step? When are we going to find out what really transpired? How are we going to be able to make sure that this sort of thing doesn't happen again?

“There are forums for us to have that discussion, not only with the Premier, but also with the central consultative committee, an entity where all of the permanent secretaries meet with the union.”

In its Throne Speech this year, the Government committed to provide security training for public officers in the wake of the cyberattack.

Mr Grant said: “I want to be able to make sure that my member has the protection so, yes, we will be able to make sure that there are protections in place, but before those protections are in place, of course, we need to do some investigation as to why it happened.”

• For the full 60-minute interview click the audio link

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