October Is Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and the Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team (Ja-CIRT) will be staging several webinars to help citizens stay safe online under the theme ‘Do Your Part, Be Cyber Smart’.

“For Jamaica, this is our third celebration of the month, and what we are aiming to do this year is to join the world in raising awareness of cyberthreats, how to mitigate them and how to behave responsibly online,” said Head of Ja-CIRT, Lieutenant Colonel (Lt. Col.) Godphey Sterling.

He was addressing a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ on Thursday (September 30), where the provided details about the month of activities, which begins on October 1.

He informed that weekly webinars will be held during the month, with live panel discussions supporting the subtheme for the week. Up to four events will be staged each week, which will be open to the public.

“For the first week, we’re really looking at the uses of cyberspace and how to operate online responsibly. For the second week, we’ll be looking at one of the most critical challenges that we’ve faced in terms of cyber incidents for this year, and that is phishing and business email compromise,” he said.

Lt. Col noted that the pandemic has changed the way persons use cyberspace, and so cybersecurity must not only be a discussion topic but a practice among citizens. “We want to ensure that we bring, to the public, things that can be done to securely govern the use of cyber resources,” he said.

He told JIS News that activities during the third week will be dedicated to highlighting careers in cybersecurity.  “We will host a symposium where we bring together academia, aspiring and existing professionals, as well as the public and private sector,” he shared.

For the fourth week, Lt. Col. Sterling noted that opportunity will be provided for stakeholders to network to build cyberspace resilience in Jamaica.

“The final week is really about bringing it all together and so we’re seeking to have our annual cybersecurity exercise on Friday, October 29 given that Cybersecurity Day will be observed on Monday, October 25,” he told JIS News.

“The aim is not to have October (Cybersecurity Awareness Month) be something that we celebrate and forget but for it to be a launchpad for how we can act responsibly in cyberspace and ensure that we secure ourselves while being mindful of the rights and responsibilities that must endure therein,” he said.

Persons interested in participating in the fora can visit the Ja-CIRT website www.cirt.gov.jm  or visit Facebook page or contact Ja-CIRT at (876) 920-4543/(876) 920-4516 or email jamaicacirt@mset.gov.jm.

Ja-CIRT is a Division under the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology established to deliver on the mandate outlined in the ‘s National Cybersecurity Strategy of 2015 to address matters regarding cyberthreats and appropriate responses.