BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC) – A senior official of the accounting firm, Deloitte’s Global, says despite increased improvements in technology in Latin America and the Caribbean, the region remains highly vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

Delivering the Prime Minister’s Independence Lecture Series Monday as part of the activities to celebrate the 33rdanniversary of St Kitts and Nevis’ independence from Britain, is Deloitte’s Global Chief Information Officer, Larry Quinlan, said “there is a price to be paid for all the unfettered computing and it’s called cyber security.

“It is a concern that will continue to grow worldwide and one that threatens to engulf us in developing countries if we’re not careful,” he said.

Making reference to the 2016 Cyber security Report produced by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Organization of American States (OAS), the Deloitte executive said “four out of every five countries in the region do not have a cyber security strategy or plans for protecting critical infrastructure.

“Two out of every three countries do not have a command and control center for cyber security and a large number of prosecutors lack the capacity to punish cyber criminals,” Quilan said, adding that cyber-crime has now gone well beyond the electronic mail people used to receive requesting bank account details.

He said the situation now strikes at the heart of businesses and governments, having become far more sophisticated and having the capability of destabilizing institutions.

“As we mark the 33rd anniversary of Independence, I am pleased to have the opportunity to share my perspective on technology as one of the levers that we can pull on our path to promoting prosperity through sustainability and national unity,” said Quinlan, who also underscored the importance of a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education in a world where technology has become a driving force.

“There is data-driven evidence that STEM education supports economic growth and fills critical skills gap,” said Quinlan, who has worked with the US-based Deloitte since 1988.

Quinlan said that the Caribbean and Latin America region needs to do more to prepare the next generation for “a technology enabled life” where educational institutions must do more to encourage students to pursue technology courses.