WITH Jamaica reportedly experiencing more than 34 million cyberattacks within the first six months of 2025, Trevor Forrest, a local computer expert, has called on government to seriously consider creating a national cyber security task force.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) already has a cybercrime unit which investigates certain cases; however, the task force being proposed by Forrest,would provide legislative advice, guidance, strategy and policy at a national level where cybersecurity is concerned. He said the task force would comprise representatives from the security forces, cybersecurity experts, private sector, and academia.

“There needs to be a task force that is dedicated to cybersecurity at a national level to guide policy, regulations and provide advice. It is something that is a critical aspect of a functioning economy because the damage that a cyberattack can do economically is immeasurable. I think it is something the people at the highest level need to give serious consideration to,” Forrest said.

Forrest highlighted that because the police have been doing such a commendable job in reducing murders and gun crimes significantly, criminals are running to other things in order to make money.

“Trust me, the men are going to look for other ways and one way is cybercrime. We have to recognise that threat and say look, we need to have a deliberate and tailored response to it. Cybercrime is good business because you don’t have to go out and put on a bulletproof vest. You sit in air-conditioning, with a computer and Internet connection.”

One frightening reality Forrest spoke about was that artificial intelligence (AI) has been assisting cybercriminals to compromise the computer databases of millions of people and entities across the world much easier and faster.

“Another thing is the increased use of artificial intelligence to create malware and attack packages. What it allows threat actors to do is to work at a staggering pace to create malware software, phishing scams and all sorts of different things. You can have people who are not native English speakers creating phishing scams that are so accurate when it comes to language that the success rate of these things increases.

“They used to tell you to always look at the e-mails and check for spelling. A lot of these guys and girls were not native English speakers, but artificial intelligence fixes that problem. The efficiency and effectiveness of the attacks are bolstered by artificial intelligence so the success rate will go up. Because of that they are able to try more things, more often and more quickly.

“I think it was last week or the week before, Anthropic issued a notice that threat actors were abusing their platform. Anthropic is a company that has a generative AI called Claude,” he said.

Due to the cybercriminals’ use of AI, Forrest said people and companies have been experiencing an uptick in phishing attacks because it provides opportunity to find ways into the organisation.

“Phishing attacks get more and more effective and clever because artificial intelligence helps. They can generate a lot more phishing attacks and what you also find happening is that more threat actors emerge because it is a lot easier for them to write the code and the malware to do the things they want because artificial intelligence can write code for them now, a lot faster than If they did it themselves. You are going to find an uptick because the tools are there now,” he added.

In a press release on Wednesday, global United States-based cybersecurity company, Fortinet, highlighted Jamaica as having experienced 34.4 million cyberattack attempts in just six months. The figure comes from the latest publication of the Fortinet Global Threat Landscape report. The report clearly outlined that there is urgent need for stronger defences to protect the country’s critical infrastructure as attackers increasingly target sectors such as manufacturing, telecommunications, healthcare and financial services.

“In Jamaica alone, FortiGuard detected four million active scans between January and June 2025 — networks being probed and tested by attackers at a staggering pace of 36,000 attempts per second worldwide. These scans help cybercriminals identify weak points they can exploit, often using AI-enabled tools to speed up attacks and increase their effectiveness. Operational technology (OT) systems — such as those that manage utilities, factories, and transport — are especially vulnerable,” the statement from Fortinet read.

“As more devices connect to the Internet through technologies such as industrial IoT, 5G, and cloud systems, the risks continue to grow. Fortinet recommends that organisations start with the basics: closing security gaps, enforcing multi-factor authentication, and managing user credentials carefully. Regular checks of external vulnerabilities and strong identity management can reduce exposure. Organisations are also encouraged to adopt proactive strategies, including creating tailored playbooks for incident response, using deception technologies to spot unusual movement in networks, and integrating real-time threat intelligence into their monitoring tools.”

Fortinet also recommended the training of staff so they are able to recognise phishing attempts, especially AI- generated ones.

“As threat actors become faster, stealthier, and more resourceful, defending Jamaica’s critical infrastructure requires more than traditional security measures. It demands situational awareness, active threat hunting, and the operational maturity to act on intelligence, not just collect it. You don’t win by reacting. You win by repairing — strategically, systematically, and ahead of the next attack,” Fortinet noted.