TeleSur published a post on May 17, 2018, urging Caribbean countries to increase cyber security during an increase in attacks. Here’s a quick summary just for you.
Daidre Leacock, Business Development Officer at the Caribbean Israel Center for Cybersecurity, appealed to Barbados and other Caribbean countries to improve their cybersecurity infrastructure. The appeal was placed at the heels of the European Union (EU) establishing cyber security measures known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Key points:
- Leacock warned that cybersecurity is no longer an option but that it is mandatory for us to be up-to-date.
- She went on to point out that Caribbean countries were highly susceptible to hacks, and that it is the responsibility of organizations and companies to become compliant.
- Any agency, whether government or private, which retains information from any EU citizen or company, will be required by law to enforce technological measures to protect information under the GDPR. Failure to comply will result in a fine for the agency or corporation if the information is compromised or lost during a cyber-attack.
- The penalty would be up to four per cent of the global revenue, or up to 20 million Euros, which translates to roughly USD 23.6 million.
- The GDPR also stipulates that any violation, as well as the names of those affected, must be submitted within 72 hours to the data protection authorities of the EU.
- Andre Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of CICCD, stated that the authorities in the region are making adequate legal preparations to improve cybersecurity in the face of growing cyber-attacks in the region.
- With cyber-attacks rising across the Caribbean, Thomas has urged Caribbean authorities to make provision by enhancing law enforcement and law enforcement capability.
Reference: telesurenglish.net
Contributed by: Sabrina Shim from Jamaica. Sabrina is a member of the WISC Discord group from the G5 Cyber Security Foundation Ltd. Learn more about WISC (Women in InfoSec Caribbean) at wiscaribbean.org. WISC is a non-profit initiative supporting Caribbean women and girls to develop a career in Information Security.