The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMAS is moving to strengthen the cyber security resilience of its ports amid fears that attacks on maritime systems could disrupt trade, tourism, supply chains and national security.

Leon Lundy, minister of transport, yesterday said cyber security must now be treated as a national resilience issue rather than solely an information technology (IT) concern, as the country’s ports increasingly depend on digital systems to move goods and connect The Bahamas to international markets.

“The security of our ports is the security of our nation,” Mr Lundy said, stressing that The Bahamas’ maritime infrastructure connects its islands, economy and the wider world. “Our ports move the goods that our people depend on. They support our businesses, they facilitate tourism and trade, and they form an important part of our national security infrastructure.”

Speaking at a cyber security training programme for ports, supported by the European Union (EU) and organised with the Latin America and Caribbean Cyber Competence Centre (LAC4), the Bahamas’ Cyber Incident Response Team (CIRT) and other partners, he said the increasing use of technology in port operations has also created new vulnerabilities.

“And when critical systems are affected, the consequences can reach our economy, our communities and our national security,” Mr Lundy said.

The minister said the three-day workshop is intended to strengthen the capacity of government agencies and maritime stakeholders to identify, manage and respond to cyber threats before they become major disruptions.

He added that national security agencies, the Port Department, Customs authorities, cyber security professionals, law enforcement and maritime partners must have established communication and response protocols before a crisis occurs.

“When a crisis comes, that is not the time to be exchanging telephone numbers,” Mr Lundy said. “We must already know who is responsible, who must be contacted, which information must be shared, and what action must be taken.”

The training will address emerging maritime cyber threats, protection of critical systems, supply chain security, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, incident response and the human element of cyber security. Mr Lundy said practical exercises will also allow participants to test their ability to respond to situations in which the integrity of port systems is compromised.

“We cannot wait for the next cyber incident to tell us what we should have done efficiently,” he said. “We must prepare before the crisis. We must strengthen before the threat, and we must build resilience before it is tested.”

Leonardo Daniel Ortega Prudencio, LAC4 programme manager, said the organisation serves as a regional cyber security education and training hub for Latin America and the Caribbean under the EU, connecting European cyber security expertise with the specific needs of countries across the region.

He said the organisation’s work extends beyond technical training to include doctrine development, advanced capacity building and lessons learned, while facilitating co-operation between institutions.

“Today, cyber security is no longer a matter of engineers or IT specialists,” Mr Ortega Prudencio said. “It has become a critical factor for national development and economic resilience.”

He added that the issue is particularly important for The Bahamas because seaports and maritime trade routes are fundamental to the country’s economy.

“Every container that moves through these hubs, every vessel that docks, every logistic chain that connects The Bahamas to the world, depends on interconnected digital systems,” Mr Ortega Prudencio added.

He warned that compromising those systems could significantly disrupt port operations, national security and, by extension, the economy, society and environment. Mr Ortega Prudencio said the threat landscape is becoming increasingly sophisticated while some information technology systems were not originally designed to withstand modern cyber threats.

“That is why it’s important that we are not to underestimate threats, and that resilience must be built by design, not by accident, by collaboration, not isolation,” he said.

Mr Ortega Prudencio said the diversity of participants is essential because protecting ports from cyber threats cannot be addressed by technical personnel or policymakers acting independently.

“It requires the executive, the operator, the regulator, the port department, the CIRT, and international collaborators to speak the same language and act as one resilient system,” he said.

Mr Lundy said the initiative is important to protecting the country’s ports because it brings multiple agencies together to help mitigate cyber threats.