JIS Promotes Cybersecurity Practices to Safeguard Users from Online Threats

The Jamaica Information Service (JIS) is promoting cybersecurity practices that safeguard users from online threats.

To date, the agency has not experienced any significant digital breaches.

In a recent virtual cybersecurity session hosted by the agency, keynote speaker, Director of Cyber Security, Symptai Consulting Limited, Rory Ebanks, credited this achievement to the agency’s ongoing security sessions to maintain this record and to ensure future protection.

Cybercrime is any crime in which a computer is the object of the crime or is used as a tool to commit an offence.

Most common cybercrimes work by accessing/stealing sensitive and personal information that can cause great damage to personal finances.

The risks of cybercrime may be minimised by putting appropriate measures in place.

Being empowered with the right information and a few simple steps, you can enjoy the Internet while keeping your property, privacy and loved ones secure.

“Some top statistics that we all need to be aware of is that every 39 seconds there is a successful hacker attack and the keyword here is successful. So, outside of the successful hacker attack, literally every second, there’s thousands of attacks occurring at any given time. These are automated attacks that’s happening on a day-to-day basis,” he warned.

“It is occurring very frequently. Ninety-two per cent of those attacks are malware and they are delivered through e-mail, and that is called phishing. Over four million websites have malware at any given time,” he added.

Mr. Ebanks emphasised the risk posed by public forums and live interactions on free access platforms where attackers can embed malicious links.

This underscores the need for vigilance when interacting in open spaces.

For organisations specifically, he suggested greater precautionary measures for file uploads and advised that no malicious files should be uploaded or distributed.

Mr. Ebanks said it is important to educate teams about identifying threats and avoiding interaction with unverified links or files, as users remain the most vulnerable point in cybersecurity.

There are several important considerations to take into account with cybersecurity.

Virus protection is a very effective way to keep your files and personal information safe.

Invest in programmes or software that will assist in protecting your computer from hackers, viruses and malware.

Some examples are McAfee AntiVirus, BitDefender or Norton Internet Security Software.

Be careful when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks.

Always keep in mind that anyone in your vicinity can access your information, if that is their intent.

Ensure the security settings on your devices are activated, and avoid doing financial transactions on public networks.

Use a secure password.

To protect yourself from cybercrime, try not to use passwords that are known to be associated with you, for example, birth dates and names of spouses.

Secure passwords should have between eight and 32 characters, including capital letters, numbers and special characters.

Do not use the same password for all your accounts.

Keep your information private.

Do not share your ATM or online passwords with anyone.

If your passwords are compromised in any way, change them immediately.

Most importantly, contact your bank’s customer care centre immediately if you know or suspect that there has been suspicious and unauthorised activity in your account.