Gov’t Developing Partnerships To Fight Cybercrime

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Hon. Fayval Williams, says the Government is developing critical partnerships to strengthen the country’s defence against cybercrime.

She noted that the Organization of American States (OAS) through its Inter-American Committee against Terrorism, has been working with the Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team (JaCIRT) to implement an early warning system.

“This system will help to fortify Jamaica’s cyber infrastructure by facilitating the delivery of more timely alerts regarding cyberthreats,” she said.

Minister Williams was addressing the opening of a cybercrime and cybersecurity forum for Latin America and Caribbean countries in Montego Bay on December 3.

She noted that collaboration is the best defence against cyberattacks, particularly for small-island developing states like Jamaica.

She expressed pleasure at the focus of the conference on partnerships and taking steps to develop strong policies and legislation that will build the capacity of countries and strengthen their defence against cyberattacks.

She noted that the Jamaican Government has begun to engage in meaningful discourse “to shape our legislative framework to protect our identities and data”.

She said that the Data Protection Bill, which is before Parliament, will provide a powerful tool in safeguarding the country’s digital space.

The Bill, the Minister said, will usher in a new paradigm and establish a uniform, robust and clear framework with respect to the protection of people’s personal and sensitive personal data.

“We are creating a firm ground upon which every Jamaican, organisation and industry can trust that they are operating in a system that works,” she added.