Bahamas Information Services published a press release on May 11, 2018, about the Bahamas not being immune to cyber crimes.
It is said that poor preparation leads to poor performance, and in the case of not being adequately prepared for cyberattacks can lead to many harsh circumstances such as loss of sensitive information and other critical level threats. However, being prepared for a situation does not guarantee the desired result; similar are the words shared by the Minister of National Security of Bahamas the Hon. Marvin Dames.
Key points:
- During his remarks at the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) Cyber Security Forum, on May 10, 2018, Minister of National Security the Hon. Marvin Dames noted at the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) Cyber Security Forum. That being a member of the global community, has embraced cyber opportunities, it is, of course, not immune to the negative effects of cybercrimes.
- Minister Dames at the event, which was held at the Island House-made mention to the 80% increase in cyber activity compared to 2016 and is inclusive of the crimes such as credit card fraud, identity theft, ransomware, phishing attacks and data loss, all of which are expected to become more common in the future.
- As it stands, three vital legislative regulations govern cybersecurity. The Computer Misuse Act (CMA) which was instituted in 2003, this Act provides comprehensive criminalization of and procedural law for cyber-criminal activity in the country, the Data Protection Act (2003) and the Electronic Communication & Transactions Act (2006).
- According to the Organization of American States (OAS), Cyber Security Report, 2016, Latin America, and the Caribbean both have the fastest growing Internet populations in the world. Minister Dames noted that the OAS report also asserts that regionally, several largescale data breaches showed that cyber-crime remains rampant and threats from cybercriminals continue to menace government, businesses, and individual users.
- Minister Dames added that the Royal Bahamas Police Force has formulated a new Cyber Security Unit by combining the Tracing & Forfeiture Section of the Drug Enforcement Unit with the Commercial Crime Section at the Central Detective Unit with hopes to develop a National Cyber Security Strategy that will aim to fortify the country’s data protection capability by strengthening the cyber-crime legislation. The minister highlighted all the measures which the country has taken yet still acknowledged the fact that there is more to be done.
Reference: bahamas.gov.bs
Contributed by: Kyle Sterling from Jamaica. Kyle is a member of the CCST Discord group from the G5 Cyber Security Foundation Ltd. Learn more about CCST (Caribbean Cyber Support Team) by visiting caribbeancst.org. CCST is a collaborative group on the Discord platform for Caribbean people in IT, from beginners to experts.