Minister of Technology 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, Minister Williams 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.

— JIS