The Tribune

THE first national computer incident response team stakeholder symposium was held yesterday at the SuperClubs Breezes resort.

In remarks to symposium participants, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the development of the cyber security posture in the country underpinned the objectives for digital transformation, and establishment of the computer incident response team (CIRT) is a critical resource.

Mr Davis said: “The National CIRT will serve as a focal point for coordinating cybersecurity incident response to cyber-attacks— providing cybersecurity support services to government, private organisations, and Bahamian citizens — particularly those in critical infrastructure and essential services - in order to defend against malicious cyber activities.

“In our Blueprint for Change, we identified cybersecurity as one of the critical initiatives for accelerating the country’s economic growth and development. We also recognise that cybersecurity and cyber resilience are essential to developing a digital society and secure and protect every citizen of The Bahamas.

“Ladies and gentlemen, cybersecurity is a journey, one that we cannot take alone. Cyber security is a whole community effort. Government, industry and individual citizens, we all have a part to play.

“I am delighted we see you all here today to engage in discussions with our cybersecurity experts and learn from their experience in building national cyber resilience.”

The National CIRT establishment project started in March 2021. Many activities have been organised during the past year to assess the nation’s cybersecurity posture and enhance cyber resilience.

“These activities, which many of you have already been a part of, include the CIRT readiness assessment and incident response training, cybersecurity capability maturity model assessment, developed by the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre at the University of Oxford, and most importantly, the National Cybersecurity Strategy,” he said.

“The National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS), which outlines the country’s cybersecurity strategic principles, guidelines, and objectives, is in its final draft and is being prepared for Cabinet’s approval.”

The strategic assessment, Mr Davis said, was conducted with the engagement of cross functional stakeholders across the public and private sections.

He said the government expected that the implementation of the national cybersecurity strategy will improve the security of our digital infrastructure and ultimately contribute to its broader socio-economic growth.