Cyber Security Awareness Day October 31

Jamaica will observe Cyber Security Awareness Day on October 31.

The Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology will mark the occasion by coordinating visits to primary and secondary schools across the island where presentations will be made to students on the safe use of the Internet.

The day is part of Cyber Security Awareness Month activities in October.

Head of the Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team (CIRT) in the Ministry, Dr. Moniphia Hewling, told JIS News that the month is being used to raise awareness among Jamaicans about cyber-risks, inform of actions being taken by the Government to protect vulnerable persons using cyberspace, as well as to develop a culture of cybersecurity in Jamaica.

She said that the Ministry has partnered with a number of public and private entities in observance of the month, which is part of the wider cybersecurity public education and awareness campaign launched in July.

The initiative seeks to inform persons about the dangers online and highlight safe practices to adopt while using the Internet.

Dr. Hewling told JIS News that there are weekly themes for the month, with the focus for week four on ‘Our continuously connected lives’ and the theme for week five ‘Be cybersafe! Think before you click’.

“We want to encourage persons to not just click and share or click to download. We are encouraging persons to stop when they get an email, think about it, scrutinise it carefully before they actually click on it,” she advised.

“The same goes for a link to a website or when posting photos or even tweets or text messages,” she added.

The week-one theme was ‘Stop, think, and connect’; week two, ‘From the break room to the boardroom: creating a culture of cybersecurity awareness’; and week three, ‘Recognising and combating cybercrimes’.

In the meantime, the CIRT Head informed that promotional materials such as posters, fliers and banners have been placed on social media and digital screens across the island by the Ministry’s telecoms partners.

Dr. Hewling informed that the Ministry will be participating in an Edu-Vision Conference hosted by e-Learning Jamaica in St. Ann from October 26 to October 28.

Other upcoming activities will include the launch of the Jamaica search website, as well as the relaunch of the stopthinkconnect.org.jm website, which will provide safety tips and resources that people can utilise at home, work or wherever they use the Internet.