Caribbean News

Everyone at risk for Cyber-crime

Published

7 years ago

October 13, 2017

#Jamaica, October 13, 2017 – Kingston – Senior Advisor in the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology, Trevor Forrest, is urging increased vigilance against cyber-crime, as everyone is at risk. He noted that last year, the country lost US$100 million due to cyber criminal activity, and a report for this year has indicated that more than 230,000 threats were detected in the space of a month.

“You cannot get rid of the threats that we are facing, but you can only put measures in place to mitigate,” he said.

“So persons need to understand that this is not something that just Government must do. Everybody has a responsibility to protect themselves and their businesses from these kinds of attacks, as everyone is affected by this,” he added.

Mr. Forrest said persons who use automated teller machines (ATMs), pay bills or shop online, use WhatsApp or Twitter on their phone are at risk and must be sensitised about good cyber practices. He noted that the Government is doing its part to make persons aware of the procedures to undertake in order to protect themselves.

He informed that in keeping with the National Cyber Security Strategy, the Ministry will be looking at some technical measures to better secure and monitor national assets, including energy, telecommunications and the financial system.

“If you consider a day without electricity, think about the inconvenience, but also think about the cost,” he said, noting that “you can literally cripple economies when you shut down their financial systems”.

FLOW’s Director of Networking and Security, Delroy McLean, who also addressed the session, said that monitoring of the company’s markets since 2015 has shown that Jamaica is the most impacted country in the Caribbean in terms of cybercrime.

“In most cases (Jamaica is) exposed to 10 times more threats than any other Caribbean country,” he noted. He pointed out that many people, in using cyberspace, do not think about security, only about the convenience.

Mr. McLean said the company continues to put protective measures in place, including recruiting and training young talent to assist in mitigating threats. He noted, however, that while “our core security protects the majority of our consumer networks at the first layer, the ultimate protection is up to the individual”.

In the meantime, Head of the Cyber Incident Response Team (CIRT), Moniphia Hewling, stressed the need for persons to be cyber-safe by thinking before they click.

“Constantly think of protecting yourself online by being aware and being careful what you share, post and click on,” she advised.

October is being observed as Cyber Security Awareness Month internationally. The CIRT, through the Science, Energy and Technology Ministry, along with its partners, will be hosting and participating in a variety of activities during the month.

Press Release: JIS

Caribbean News

STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS EXPECTED TO ASSIST GOV’T PLANNING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2024

Shanieka

KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.

This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.

“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.

He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).

Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.

“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.

“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.

Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.

Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.

The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.

The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.

NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.

CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON

Caribbean News

Haiti- ECHO humanitarian efforts

Published

3 days ago

April 29, 2024

Shanieka

Rashaed Esson

Staff writer

#Haiti#Crisis#HumanitarianEfforts#ECHO, April 23rd, 2024 – Due to the worsening Humanitarian crisis in Haiti with an increase in death toll and injured people, The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), launched an emergency airlift of 5 flights carrying essentials which include up to 62 tons of medicine as well as emergency shelter equipment, and water and sanitation items. These were brought to Cap Haitien according to a report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), on April 19, as the international Airport in Port au prince remains closed following the gang attack last month.

Caribbean News

Dominica repeals laws criminalizing gay sex

Published

3 days ago

April 29, 2024

Shanieka

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#Dominica#LGBTQIA, April 24, 2034- Dominica has decided to remove colonial era laws that criminalized gay sex, joining Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda.

This comes almost five years after a man of the queer community, whose identity was withheld for his safety, spoke out against Dominica’s laws in 2019, saying they violated his rights.