Cybersecurity experts warn against increasing risks

The risks of cyber attacks are real and can cause significant damage to business operations. As cybersecurity risks continue to grow, businesses, institutions, and governments in the Caribbean are taking steps to mitigate the risks and protect themselves from cyber attacks.

To address these growing concerns, CariSec Global hosted the Cyber Security 2023: Reducing Cyber Risks through Cyber Resilience virtual event from March 7th to 8th, 2023. The event brought together governments, business leaders, and IT Managers to raise cybersecurity awareness and discuss matters relating to the business of cybersecurity, frameworks, standards, and associations in the operations and provisioning of Strategic Security Services.

During this two-day event, government representatives and business leaders learned from regional and international experts in the industry and shared experiences on a range of strategic topics, including Cyber Risk for Business Leaders, Strategic Response to Cyber Attacks, Digital Forensics of Cybercrime, Regional Cyber Climate, The Economics of Cybercrime, Building effective Cybersecurity Programs, and Data Risk Management.

Highlighting the reality of threats facing governments and business owners, Edward Millington, Managing Director/Principal Security Consultant, CariSec Global Inc stated, “Cyber risk is one of the world’s top ten global risks, and this risk continues to grow due to inadequate understanding and awareness. The public and private sector continue to face increasing threats, putting governments, businesses, people, technology, and services at risk, causing legal ramifications on the side of clients and business.”

In his feature address, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Telecommunication Union Rodney Taylor cautioned that connectivity is increasing the risk of cyber attacks. Of this, he stated, “It’s important for businesses to develop strong cyber resilience to safeguard themselves against these threats. There are reputational risks as well as significant financial risks to the organisation in case of a breach and if there’s a loss of customer data.”

He continued, “Businesses face the challenges of ever-evolving threats; the growing sophistication of the threats; the fact that they’re state actors involved, not just teenagers in a basement; all of this such that this issue has grown in sophistication and a huge global business based on cybercrime and ransomware has developed. There’s a lot of money to be made and as a result, the criminals are working around the clock.”

Participants left with a deeper understanding of the developing nature of cyber threats and the critical role of strategic leadership in developing and implementing effective cybersecurity and cyber resilience strategies.

CariSec Global is a leading Next-Generation Managed Service Provider, providing Risk-Integrated Cybersecurity & ICT Managed Strategic Services – protects businesses and their data by integrating International Standards and Frameworks into the organisations’ strategies and goals; meeting obligations to laws, regulations, and industry compliance (s), while providing business operational safety, integrity, trust and resilience to institutions: financial, government, health, manufacturing, private, retail, and energy and utilities.

(PR)