KINGSTON, Jamaica — 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 cyber threats, how to mitigate them and how to behave responsibly online,” said Head of Ja-CIRT, Lieutenant Colonel Godphey Sterling.

Sterling was addressing a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ on Thursday where he provided details about the month of activities, which begins on Friday. Up to four events will be staged each week including live panel discussions. The activities will be open to the public. 

The Ja-CIRT will be aiming to combat several major issues affecting cyber-security. Chief among them are phishing and business email compromise.

“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,” Sterling said.

Noting that the pandemic has changed the way people use cyberspace, the Lieutenant Colonel said, “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 added noting that the month’s long activities will also aim to provide stakeholders with the network to build cyberspace resilience in Jamaica.

“The aim is not to have October (Cybersecurity Awareness Month) be something that we celebrate and forget, but for it to be a launch pad 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. 

Individuals interested in participating in the month’s activities are being asked to visit the Ja-CIRT website at 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.