Bluesky assures clients their American Samoa service is secure

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Bluesky Communications American Samoa has reassured its business clients — covering private and public sectors — that its telecommunication is secured as verified by the federal government, and complies with industry standards and practices.

The Apr. 30th letter from Bluesky Country Manager Raj Deo, comes on the heels of Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga’s Apr. 24th letter titled ‘Communication Security’ setting a new local government policy in which all federally funded programs are to utilize the American Samoa TeleCommunications Authority (ASTCA) for internet and other required communication services. The governor cites security concerns as the main reason for the new policy.

According to Lolo, the United States and its territories are “extremely vulnerable” to cyber attacks, thus the security of information exchanged among the “instrumentalities of the federal and territorial governments have been and are continually being compromised by hostile governments” using foreign owned cable systems.

Samoa News notes that Lolo does not name Bluesky in his April 24th letter.

“It is expected that by May 1, 2018 all of your telecommunication conversions will have been completed,” Lolo wrote to the heads of ASG entities. (See Samoa News April 26th online and electronic editions for details)

Deo, in his letter to Bluesky business clients, noted the recent memo (letter) from the Government of American Samoa with regards to communication security risks in the territory.

“We at Bluesky would like to reassure you that Bluesky provides fixed line internet services to you using highly-secure terrestrial and submarine facilities, the security of which has been verified by U.S. Government security agencies and which complies with industry standards and best practices,” Deo explained.

He added that to deliver Internet service, Bluesky uses the American Samoa-Hawai’i Cable submarine cable system and terrestrial Cisco IP Core and transport equipment “to deliver high-quality services to your premises.”

To ensure the security of these facilities and services, he said Bluesky has adopted and implemented vendor security, physical and electronic security, cyber security, and personnel screening policies as required by the U.S. Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Justice.

Additionally, Bluesky is also subject to annual compliance reporting and reviews by these agencies, and remains in full compliance.

“Bluesky takes security seriously, and we will continue to take all necessary measures to protect your communications and mitigate security risks,” Deo wrote to Bluesky customers. “Please contact us for any support or direction in this area that you might need, as we are happy to extend our expertise to help your business.”

Samoa News points out that ASTCA also currently uses ASH Cable, which is 33% owned by ASG.

According to the governor, in his Apr. 24 letter, the ASH cable “is deemed the most secure cable system that is currently serving our needs and ASTCA is a government owned facility, which guarantees the security of informational exchange” with federal government agencies.