GovGuam probes cyberattack

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has ordered an investigation into a suspected cyberattack affecting government of Guam websites, a global incident linked to a critical zero-day vulnerability targeting cPanel-hosted websites.

"Preliminary information indicates that multiple guam.gov websites may be affected as part of a broader global event impacting systems across multiple jurisdictions. At this time, the full scope and scale of impact remain under active investigation," states a press release from the office of the governor.

An immediate, government-wide assessment of all potentially impacted agencies has been ordered.

"Out of an abundance of caution, worst-case scenarios under review include potential data disruption, deletion, or encryption consistent with ransomware-type activity," the governor's office said.

Officials said there is currently no confirmation of any breach involving sensitive personal information.

The Office of Technology is leading response and recovery efforts, working in coordination with hosting partners to secure systems, assess integrity, and restore services using available backups where possible.

Immediate patching and system hardening measures are being implemented across all applicable platforms to prevent further exposure.

The Mariana Regional Fusion Center and federal partners, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, have been notified and are engaged, as this incident appears to be part of a large-scale global cyber event.

“This is a serious situation, and we are treating it with urgency and discipline,” Leon Guerrero said. “Our focus is clear: secure our systems, protect the public, and restore services safely and as quickly as possible.”

At this time, there is no impact to emergency response operations. The Guam Homeland Security and Office of Civil Defense website remains operational.

Government services continue through alternate channels where necessary.

The Office of the Governor urges the public to rely only on official government communication platforms for updates and to remain cautious of phishing attempts or fraudulent websites.

Sen. Shawn Gumataotao said he is in close contact with the Homeland Security advisor on the matter.

"The Committee on Public Safety, Emergency Management and the Guam National Guard has also been advised on this ongoing federal law enforcement response," Gumatotao said.

"I ask our local government administrators and employees to remain vigilant and immediately report any issues when using Government of Guam digital platforms—including emails, software and websites—to the Office of Technology. There is no confirmed breach of sensitive personal information."