KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Office of the Registrar-General (ORG), formerly the Registrar General’s Department (RGD), says it was affected by a cyber incident detected on Sunday and is working to determine its full scope.

“Our initial assessment indicates that this incident was primarily designed to disrupt the availability of our systems,” the ORG said Wednesday.

“As investigations are still ongoing to determine the full scope, some of our services may remain temporarily impacted or unavailable as we work diligently to restore full operations.”

It maintained that upon detection of the cyber attack its technical team immediately activated an established incident response plan.

“This included containing the threat, launching a digital forensic investigation, notifying the relevant regulatory authorities, and beginning the process of systems and operational recovery,” it said

Maintaining that no system is fool-proof, the ORG said it believed that its robust security measures were instrumental in isolating the attack and limiting its impact.

“We understand that this disruption is an inconvenience to the many individuals and businesses who rely on our services, and we deeply regret any frustration this has caused. We are committed to transparency and will provide additional updates as more information becomes available,” it said.

The ORG operates as the country’s repository for all records of births, marriages, deaths, and stillbirths in Jamaica.

Maintaining that it treats the security of its systems and citizens’ data with the utmost seriousness, the ORG said it is committed to learning from this event and is continuing to invest in and strengthen its defences to stay ahead of evolving cyber threats.