KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica was the target of four million attempted cyberattacks during the first half of 2024, according to a Fortinet report.

February reportedly recorded the highest level of activity.

“We are facing a constantly evolving cyber threat landscape; cybercriminals continue to specialise, using increasingly advanced and sophisticated recognition and evasion techniques, which has increased their probability of success,” said Carlo Caloca, regional sales manager at Fortinet for the English Caribbean.

“To protect themselves against these advanced cybercrime tactics, organisations should focus on enabling coordinated, actionable threat intelligence powered by real-time artificial intelligence across all security devices to detect suspicious activities and initiate coordinated mitigation across the extended attack surface,” he continued.

According to the report, 44 per cent of all ransomware and wiper samples were aimed at industrial sectors. Meanwhile, ransomware detections dropped by 70 per cent compared to the first half of 2023. However, Fortinet said this is not good news as attackers have moved from a traditional mass distribution strategy to a much more focused one with the energy, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, and automotive industries being the most attacked.

“Proactively monitoring and analysing cyber threats helps identify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited, which enables the timely implementation of remediation measures before any possible attempt of intrusion; as businesses aim to protect their assets and safeguard user privacy, artificial intelligence (AI) has positioned itself as a key player in cybersecurity,” Caloca said.

Fortinet provides cybersecurity expert consultancy to companies and works with them to implement comprehensive digital security strategies.

“If we look at the most recent data from our reports, we can highlight the importance of updating cybersecurity platforms in Jamaica and the relevance of including education and awareness programmes within companies’ business plans. Human error or carelessness continues to be the gateway for most cybersecurity breaches, especially through phishing campaigns that are easily avoidable if the collaborators are trained in these risks, in addition to the proper updating and protection of all technological infrastructure,” Senior Major Account Manager at Fortinet Jamaica, Ronald Donaldson added.