The Tribune

By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

As part of efforts to strengthen cybersecurity, the National Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) will be launched in December, according to Minister of Economic Affairs Michael Halkitis.

Mr Halkitis said yesterday that the Davis administration is “dedicated” to strengthening the country’s level of cybersecurity, saying: “The government of The Bahamas has dedicated itself to advancing the cybersecurity posture in The Bahamas. This has materialised, in part, through the establishment of the National CIRT, set to officially launch and begin offering an introductory set of services compliant with national laws and regulations, industry standards, and best practices this December.”

Mr Halkitis spoke yesterday at the opening of the OAS Cybersecurity Symposium, and said cybersecurity is important from a financial and national security perspective.

He said: “Cybersecurity plays a pivotal role in our national strategy and is crucial for advancing our utilisation of information and communications technology and managing cyber risks — particularly from an economic, but also from a national security perspective.”

He said the CIRT will respond to cybersecurity incidents for public and private organisations, and that a National Cybersecurity Strategy will be drafted.

He said: “As it strengthens its international partnerships, CIRT-BS will serve as The Bahamas’ focal point for cybersecurity incident response to cyber-attacks and will provide proactive and reactive services to public and private organisations.

“By championing the cybersecurity maturity model assessment and drafting the National Cybersecurity Strategy, The Bahamas is one step closer to its goal of becoming a cybersecurity leader in the region.”

Mr Halkitis also noted that with the amount of activity conducted online, collaboration with the private sector, governments and organisations is vital.

He said: “With so much of commerce as well as government activity occurring online, cybersecurity, that is protecting the information and financial resources that are online is very, very important.

“It’s very important that we collaborate, government with the private sector, government with other governments, governments with other organisations, so that we share information.”

He said ensuring that all members of the digital ecosystem have adequate cyber protection and enacting “best in practice” legislation is important to maintaining investor confidence and the country’s reputation.

He said: “You can have a government or a corporation that have very, very strong cybersecurity protections, but if one of their partners is a weak link, then the strength of the chain is dependent on the weakest link.

“So it’s very important to collaborate, to talk, share experiences, have best in practice legislation, so that you can get the confidence and keep the confidence of your partners, people who want to do business in your country or participate with the government.”