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On Tuesday, you heard from the CEO of BEL about what they know so far about the extent of a data leak after their IT system was attacked by a ransomware group named "Ragnar Locker" out of Russia. It was like the plot of a sci-fi movie, only in this case, some customer and employee information was thrown up on the dark web.
And as BEL has said, it is an eyeopener for them. While they had already updated their security measures, they are now implementing others, like the removal of customer information that doesn't need to be stored, such as Social Security numbers.
But it should be an eyeopener for the entire country to take a good look at the security that is supposed to keep their databases safe. And this morning, a timely Cyber In-Country Sensitization Session and Training was held at the Biltmore Plaza. It aims at educating stakeholders, like law enforcement and the judiciary, on all things cyber. Today at the opening ceremony, the CEO in the Ministry of Home Affairs spoke about the steps that Belize has already taken.
Kevin Arthurs, CEO Ministry of Home Affairs
"The recent cyber attack is an eye opening, timely and personal reality. It is not lost on me and should not be lost on you that this cyber attack directed itself to the core of who we are as a nation. Not only did it target the one collective ownership asset that we all as Belizean constitutionally own, but it tried to undermine the very foundation of our interaction with the world and each other."
"If there is no internet, it might be because there is no electricity. We live on the web proudly. Belize has efforted itself to be in step and at the very least close to the ball on this one. We developed our first national cybersecurity strategy in 2020 to establish a comprehensive framework for addressing cyber threats."
"The strategy outlines goals, objectives and action plans to enhance cybersecurity across various sectors, including government, critical infrastructure and private enterprises. To date, the government has tried successively to consistently be moving the needle forward in respect to cybersecurity, and no small feat includes passing the Cybersecurity Act of 2020, along with other laws and regulations such as the Electronic Crimes Act and the Data Protection Act, which all provide a legal framework for prosecuting cyber criminals and protecting individuals and organizational data."
"They have also established a digital forensic laboratory under the Belize Police Department in February of 2022. Additionally we have endeavored to train police officers in the investigation of digital crimes. We have also sensitized and increased the capacity building for the judiciary and prosecutors on technical concepts and methods of technology used in committing cyber crimes."
The workshop will continue tomorrow.
