PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Over 50 delegates from across the Region assembled at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Trinidad on Monday, December 1 to begin a Cyber Security workshop organized by the Organization of American States’ Inter American Committee against Terrorism, (CICTE) in collaboration with CARICOM’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security ( IMPACS).
The sub-regional intensive 5 day workshop hosted by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago will launch a process that will lead to the creation of, National Cyber Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs), part of a broader regional cyber security strategy that would include the augmentation of our digital forensics capacity.
The feature address was delivered by the Minister of National Security, The Honorable Senator Martin Joseph who described the security of citizens as the government’s number one priority. “This commitment,” he assured, “extended to cyber space”. Minister Joseph said that the workshop was particularly relevant as the Government of Trinidad and Tobago had intensified its drive toward developing a National Information and Communication Technology Strategy to assist in the fight against crime.
OAS representative Dr Riyad Insanally thanked Minister Joseph for his strong personal support of activities such as this, while expressing thanks to the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Public Administration, along with IMPACS for their invaluable collaboration in making the workshop a reality.
Lynne Anne Williams, Executive Director of CARICOM IMPACS
Executive Director of IMPACS Ms. Lynne Anne Williams described the workshop as one way of giving substance and meaning to the new degree of importance that the Region’s Heads of Government have placed on crime and security.
“Everyday more and more people are becoming aware of the challenges wrought by living in a world increasingly dependent on progressively sophisticated technologies. While computers, the internet, and other information and communication technologies add convenience to our lives and have boundless potential to do so in the future, they also make us more vulnerable to a wide range of new threats,” Williams said.
A number of threats were highlighted by speakers including the use of “botnets” to send spam and “phish” for personal or even financial information; the exploitation of insecure web applications; attacks on websites, networks, online payment gateways and critical information infrastructure; cyber espionage; and the use of the internet to plan, organize and execute criminal and/or terrorist activities, to name, but a few.
The Inter American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) has been leading the way in creating a culture of cyber security awareness throughout the Hemisphere. In her remarks Ms. Lilia Moraes, Cyber Security Programme Manager, CICTE Secretariat complimented the region for its exemplary response to the workshop, and highlighted the link between economic prosperity, the overall standard of living in the region, and activities such as this workshop that aim to improve security.
