BCB spends $80,000 to implement safety protocols after hacking

BCB spends $80,000 to implement safety protocols after hacking

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Broadcasting Corporation of  The Bahamas has spent up to $80 thousand dollars to put in place new safety protocols following a hacking of its operating system earlier this year.

BCB Chairman Mike Smith confirmed to Eyewitness News on Tuesday that operations are about 70 per cent back to normal but the repairs continue to be a work in progress.

“We never agreed to pay the hackers but getting our systems back up has cost us about $80,000,” Smith said.  “We are putting in a lot more security safeguards as far as our systems are concerned. That figure includes new servers, stand-alone systems and the actual safety safeguards.”

Smith said while the incident resulted in not so much of challenge for the national broadcaster, they still had to “re-do” many of its programs.

Back in January, international hackers infiltrated the corporation’s servers and demanded it hand over between $18,000 and $20,000 in the cryptocurrency, bitcoin.

The BCB reportedly negotiated with hackers but no payment was ever made, according to officials.

About Genea Noel

Genea Noel is the news director and weeknight TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. She began working at Eyewitness News in 2018 as the newsroom editor and was subsequently promoted during her tenure. As a household name who graces the screens of thousands of Bahamian homes each night, Genea has racked up an impressive five Bahamas Press Club awards, including “The Cyril Stevenson Award for Outstanding Political Journalism” (2020), “Best Studio Live Producer” (2020) and “Best Newscast” (2018).