Buzz around cybersecurity
DURING OCTOBER, there is expected to be sustained buzz around cybersecurity as Jamaica and the global community pause to observe Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
On an international level, the potential for using computer technology to endanger the safety of citizens and interrupt business operations has contributed to the definition of cybersecurity as a new dimension of warfare.
Cyberattacks can be characterised in two ways: where the goal is to disable a computer system or knock it off line, and the other is to gain access to data. Either way, these actions can create havoc and cripple systems that are designed to enable the wheels of government, commerce and daily life to keep on turning.
The tiny Eastern European country of Estonia, with a population of 1.3 million, has felt the sting of cyberwarfare. In April 2007, the Estonian government proposed to remove a controversial Soviet war memorial from its capital. A few weeks later, the country was hit by a powerful cyber attack that was dubbed Web War 1. The impact was devastating. Banks were paralysed, government IT systems crippled, and media websites frozen.
Many millions in investment later, Estonia now leads the way in Europe on the Global Cybersecurity Index and only recently named cyber ambassadors in a bid to see how diplomats can help shape cybersecurity policy and strategy.
POLITICAL CYBERATTACKS
Back in 2016, the US formally accused Russia of cyberattacks against political organisations in order to “interfere with the US elections”. The fallout continues to haunt the current administration of Donald Trump.
Technological advancement has worsened the international security environment with increasing cyberthreats that are more complex and sophisticated.
Jamaica appears to have more than its fair share of scammers. And the Internet is their playground. Many of them are using technology to exploit cyberspace by hacking into websites. So it is timely that the Jamaica Cyber Incident Response team in the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of National Security has worked out a calendar of activities aimed at making customers, businesses and students more aware of their own responsibility in repelling the lurking dangers on the battlefield.
As we have come to understand it, the battlefield can be anywhere: a smartphone, personal computer, bank accounts, water supply, transportation systems and telecommunications.
The subtheme of the programme has been dubbed ‘Think Before You Click’. Teenagers and young adults should be especially alive to this advice because they are often vulnerable to predators who are trolling the Internet. If there is one lesson young people should learn, it should be this: You do not have to put your personal details and a running account of your every movement on the Internet.
PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY
We sincerely hope that the activities will lead these young persons towards developing a new appreciation of why it is important to protect their privacy.
News reports and letters to this newspaper suggest that banking operations merit particular attention in this cybersecurity response. Customers have been suffering at the hands of cybercriminals. Indeed, although some banks appear to be more alert than others, the evidence suggests that they are all affected.
Governments have been entrusted with critical data of citizens, including their medical and police records. And together with banks and other financial institutions, they have a duty to protect customers who have entrusted them with valuable, private information. It means they should be capable of providing an early warning to customers if their accounts have been compromised.
A successful cybersecurity response requires investment that will identify gaps in the various platforms. It should also be able to repel attacks in a fairly efficient and timely manner.
It is not clear whether our lawmakers who seek to provide a vision for the country’s future see the link between cyberthreats and the country’s economic prospects. It’s a conversation that needs to take place urgently.