IT SECURITY INCIDENT PROBED

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced that an information security incident, involving a malicious ransomware attack to part of its computer systems, was identified yesterday.

In a press release, InvestHK condemned such malicious attacks, and said it has already updated relevant access rights, isolated the affected systems, and activated back-up procedures.

Preliminary findings indicated that the affected areas included an internal customer relationship management system, InvestHK’s intranet and part of its website operation.

InvestHK pointed out that upon identification of the incident, it tightened its cyber security systems to prevent further ransomware attacks. It also reported the case to Police, the Digital Policy Office, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data and the Security Bureau on the same day.

An investigation is underway to ascertain whether personal data leakage is involved. InvestHK said it will inform relevant parties when further updates are available. It is also seeking advice from the Digital Policy Office and has appointed experts to assist with the investigation and recovery.

Meanwhile, InvestHK’s public services remain normal. The public can continue to contact the department by telephone, email or face-to-face meetings.

Apart from expressing hope that the culprits can be brought to justice as soon as possible, the department reiterated that it would not send embedded hyperlinks via emails, SMS messages or social media pages for collecting personal information or requesting for payment.

For enquiries, call 3107 1000 or write to enq@investhk.gov.hk.

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