"Vanuatu Struggles Back Online After Cyberattack"

Vanuatu's government recently stated that it was slowly getting its communications back online following a cyberattack that knocked out emergency services, emails, and phone lines for weeks.  Chief information officer Gerard Metsan stated that 70 percent of the government network had now been restored, including crucial emergency lines for ambulance, police, and fire services.  He did not give details of which services remained affected but said all government departments were back online after some hardware was replaced.  Government servers and websites on the Pacific island nation had been out since November 6, when suspicious activity was first detected.  The cyberattack knocked out online services, email, and network-sharing systems, in many cases forcing officials to use other platforms to communicate.   Vanuatu's newly elected Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau stated that experts from Australia were called in to help and that it remained unclear who was behind the cyberattack.  Kalsakau noted that data analysis of the hackers showed "persistent traffic" from Europe, Asia, and the United States, "but these indications could be misleading."  The prime minister could not say whether the attack was state-sponsored, adding it was also too early to determine the full extent of the damage.  The experts from Australia believe that the cyberattack came through a non-secure government website managed by third parties and workstations with known security weaknesses.  Police are currently investigating whether locals helped assist the hackers.  The small South Pacific nation of 315,000 had limited ability to deal with the problem, and Kalsakau said safeguards were being installed in the network to reduce the risk of another cyberattack.
 

SecurityWeek reports: "Vanuatu Struggles Back Online After Cyberattack"