The management of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) has offered apologies to the public after a profane message was broadcast on the bridge’s digital messaging board on Thursday evening.
Emergency information, retraction schedules, and other important messages are usually displayed on the digital board for the benefit of commuters.
Members of the public on Thursday last, were greeted with vulgarity on the messaging board. In an interview with Stabroek News yesterday, General Manager of the DHBC, Wayne Watson, stated that he was alerted by the ranks on duty about the profane broadcast. The broadcast, he added, lasted for approximately 10 minutes before technicians disconnected the power from the digital board. An investigation has been launched into the act which he described as a cybercrime.
He said that access to the digital board is monitored by a password. “It also has a password, so while one would say a member of the public or anybody can get access, with the coordination based on our initial investigation I would say it’s beyond just a random person from outside.”
An investigation has been launched into the act. “An investigation right now is ongoing and it would be further extended beyond our Information Technology (IT) specialists. It is in the national interest, it is something that should not have happened in the first place,” Watson said.
According to a press release by the DHBC, both citizens and visitors were forced to endure the vulgarity during what it described as “a calculated attack on the corporation and by extension the Government of Guyana.”
“We wish to assure everyone that the profane message broadcast via the digital messaging board was perpetrated with ill intent by a yet unknown person or persons, to cast a shadow of doubt over the corporation and its hardworking staff. This will not be taken lightly. Not only do we view it as an attack, but also a total misrepresentation of who we are as a team executing our mandate of ensuring safe and timely crossing of everyone using the Demerara Harbour Bridge.”
The DHBC also committed to ensuring that better systems and monitoring mechanisms are in place to ensure that this type of incident does not recur.
“We assure members of the public that a full investigation has been launched into this incident. We appreciate your inquiries and messages of concern from the time …this attack transpired. We also thank you, sincerely, for the swiftness in which you contacted us about this matter, and encourage you to continue to be our partners in development, as we work to ensure only the most excellent service is given to you from the corporation,” the release added.
