Pres. Ali sees rise in cyber-security threats to Guyana

Mar 14, 2024 News

President Mohamed Irfaan Ali

Kaieteur News – President Irfaan Ali on Wednesday said that there has been a rapid increase in cybercrime threats to this country.

Ali made the comments while delivering remarks at UG’s 2023 Perry Center Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education for Hemispheric Defense Studies. He listed some security challenges faced not only by Guyana but by the Region that might need the intervention of strategic educational courses. One of those challenges, according to Ali is cyber-security. “So cyber security is becoming a major threat”, Ali said while adding “ We have seen five-years-ago one may have designated this as a low level threat in Guyana [but] we have seen over the last two years how intense this threat is becoming”.

Ali said that the information and misinformation campaign during recent tensions with Guyana’s neighbours is one example of how the cyber-threat is real. One of those recent tensions was with neigbouring Venezuela over the Guyana’s Essequibo. “We have seen the CARICOM website being hacked, their information platform being exposed to all elements”, Ali added as he explained the seriousness of a cyber-security threat.

The president continued that cyber-security threats will become more prevalent as country’s economy becomes more sophisticated and has greater “reach”. “You see those who are attacking your information set are attacking it because they look at your reach, the reach of the country and one must acknowledge that reach of Guyana is becoming more intense and we having greater position globally”, the president said.

Ali further explained that because of this, there will be a greater interest in what Guyana has. “What we store, what information we have, what type of partnership we are having”, Ali noted while labeling cyber-security an important issue that needs to be addressed.

The President then went on to list some other security challenges Guyana and the rest of the region face and they include “port security” and gang violence-a problem that is currently plaguing Haiti.

He urged the University of Guyana and the Guyana Defence Force to craft training programmes that will equip individuals with the knowledge to deal with these and other security issues.

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Cyber-security threat, Guyana, President Ali, programmes, University of Guyana

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