The Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team (JaCIRT) and the Major Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Agency (MOCA) are actively collaborating with entities across Jamaica impacted by the global IT outage in an effort to mitigate the effects and facilitate recovery, according to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

The massive outage, one of the biggest IT crashes in recent years, was caused by an update to an antivirus programme by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, and has impacted airlines, banks, TV channels and other businesses across the globe.

The OPM in a release noted that the outage is affecting Windows-based systems utilising the CrowdStrike Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) software. It said JaCIRT and MOCA have advised that Mac and Linux hosts remain unaffected by the issue.

CrowdStrike has successfully identified and isolated the issue, and a solution has been deployed, OPM noted.

It said affected individuals or entities are advised to visit the CrowdStrike support portal for the latest updates. Additionally, assistance can be obtained by contacting JaCIRT at (876) 578-5707 or MOCA at (876) 676-MOCA (6622).

“There are already malicious URLs circulating. These are aimed at deceiving users attempting to resolve the issue independently,” OPM said, adding that the government urges all affected parties to exercise caution and ensure they follow official guidance.

Meanwhile, it said the government commends JaCIRT and MOCA for their swift action and ongoing support in addressing the issue.