The government is demanding a full account of the cyber breach at Jamaica Electronic Transfer Services, JETS, Limited, the company behind the Multi-Link network.
This follows JETS’ announcement last week of the attack, exposing historic credit and debit card data.
Mahiri Stewart tells us more.
Minister with responsibility for Technology, Dr. Andrew Wheatley, has written to CEO of JETS Limited, Edmundo Jenez, and Bank of Jamaica BOJ, Governor, Dr. Brian Langrin, requesting a written report on the breach by October 31, 2026.
JETS disclosed the incident on October 22.
It says it involved a limited part of its internal administrative systems and may have exposed some customer information
According to the company, the files accessed by the hackers may have exposed some card numbers from historical administrative data on the debit network, as well as the names of some customers who received transfers through Automated Clearing House, ACH.
But the company says PINs, card verification values and expiry dates are never stored and were not affected.
Besides Multi-link, JETS also manages the ACH transfers, which the central bank recognises as a systemically important payment system.
JETS stressed that the Multi-Link and ACH networks themselves were not affected and remain fully operational.
This was echoed by the Technology Minister, in a statement on Friday, who also moved to reassure Jamaicans that the country’s online payment networks remain operational following the attack.
Today, Monday, Dr. Wheatley says, given the card and customer data in JETS’ custody, the government regards the breach as a matter of national concern.
He wants to know how the attackers got in, when the attack began, how many customers and cards were affected, and whether any ransom or other demand was made.
Pending the full report, he wants a preliminary briefing within 72 hours for himself, the CIRT Division, the Office of the Information Commissioner and MOCA.
JETS has also been asked to preserve all evidence.
Dr Wheatley says the request is not about assigning blame and that JETS acted promptly to contain the incident and inform the public.
But he says the government and the public are entitled to know what happened, who was affected and what is being done to stop it happening again.
The minister says the report will be kept confidential and is not intended to prejudice any criminal investigation.
Customers are being urged to monitor their accounts, report unfamiliar transactions to their bank and never share a PIN, CVV, one-time password or online banking login.
