I’d moved on to other things after writing about the TSTT data breach, and while it seemed that most of the breaches in Trinidad and Tobago that we do know about could have been because organizations didn’t keep their content management systems up to date, there was something very weird to me about the whole TSTT debacle aside from the response(s) they had.

When the CEO, Lisa Agard, was removed, Kent Western replaced her. It’s on the TSTT leadership team page. Of course, Agard’s LinkedIn page hasn’t been updated with what she’s doing now, but she’s not really the story here.

What is interesting is that TSTT, the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago, with majority control held by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago… has no Chief Technology Officer listed. Through the previous CTO’s LinkedIn Profile still has him listed as the CTO of TSTT. This is likely an oversight, easily explained and remedied.

The Honourable Senator and Minister of Public Information and Digital Transformation, Hassel Bacchus, former CTO of TSTT, did in fact leave as CTO a few years ago. In fact, it was a little controversial because there were claims he got ‘special payments’ which were refuted by TSTT. That article is about 2 years old, so one has to wonder…

In 2 years, TSTT couldn’t find a CTO? A data breach would have fell into a CTO’s wheelhouse, as would avoiding it. If there’s anyone that should fall on their sword because of a data breach, it would be the CTO, not a CEO. Sure, the CEO is ultimately responsible, but the CTO is the technology officer.

I found this leading to larger questions beyond the data breach. Why would a company that deals almost if not completely in technology not have a Chief Technology Officer? Why don’t they have one yet? Where are TSTT’s Board of Directors on making such appointment?

That I missed this on the first evolution of the data breach speaks to my own mindset. I immediately honed in on the technology and privacy issues and didn’t look at the structure of TSTT.

It boggles the mind that a telecommunications service company doesn’t have a CTO, and hasn’t had one for years. Of course, maybe no one wanted the job.

Maybe we know why.

And as it happens, with all these data breaches, I suppose it’s good to have a Minister of Public Information and Digital Transformation. Information, as some say, wants to be free, and in such cases it makes it to the public.