This morning, the Ministry of National Security and the Public Utilities Commission launched Belize's first National Cybersecurity Strategy. This is the Belize Government's policy ideas on how best to protect Belizeans from all the threats that come with being online.
The coronavirus pandemic and social distancing have quickly taught Belizeans, and the rest of the world, about how useful, convenient - AND NECESSARY - it is to be able to connect to each other using the internet. Work and study at home have become the norm - but, being almost-always online comes with a risks in the form of cyber threats, that few of us actually stop and consider.
That's why the Government has been labouring for a number of years to come up with a plan to protect you from all those predators and hackers who would seek to abuse your personal information for illicit reasons.
The National Cybersecurity strategy is the product of several months of public consultation and research by the Ministry of National Security, the OAS's Inter-American Committee on Terrorism, the National Security Council Secretariat, the Public Utilities Commission, the Central Information Technology Office, and the Attorney General's Ministry, and an Inter-institutional Cybersecurity Task Force.
The strategy was officially unveiled today in a virtual launch, and here's what a few of the key persons working on it had to say:
Nicole Haylock - Deputy Coordinator, National Security Council Secretariat "Cyberspace is another realm of security that's here to stay, and just as in the past, we have identified land, sea, and air as a focus for security development. Now we have to include cyberspace. So, given the fact that the world is modernizing, and we need the internet, we need cyberspace to do business and even social development."
George Lovell - CEO, Ministry of Natural Security (Home Affairs) "The strategy took a few years. It was not just something that happened overnight. We had non-governmental organizations, civil society. There were these private organizations. We had the banking system. The PUC was also a part of this whole process, and we thought that it was necessary to have that configuration."
John Avery - Chairman, PUC "We designed the National Cybersecurity Symposium. I was, perhaps, the biggest such event ever held in Belize. It lasted for a week. We wanted to establish the National Cybersecurity Taskforce, which we did on the last day of the symposium. That task force has been working ever since. It has grown in membership and representation from all sectors of society. It is really the work of that task force that has led us here today."
Nicole Haylock "We looked at the context, and we said, listen, let's start with the basics. So, the 3 strategic pillars of the National Cybersecurity Strategy includes 1, legislative framework, 2, incidents response, and 3 building capacity within the workplace, education [and] awareness."
Supt. Mario Alcoser - Commander, Police Information Technology and Cyber Unit "We play a vital role in educating the public of the dangers in cyberspace, and ways for the public to protect themselves using technologies like anti-malware, using legitimate, open-source software. Avoiding the use of pirated software is very important. Pirated software generally contains malware, spyware, and key-loggers. So, when people use those types of software, they are compromising themselves right there."
Etienne Sharp - Belize Association of ICT Professionals "There are so many different aspects of cybersecurity. It's not something that should necessarily scare you. But, you should have - the same way you have a security protocol for yourself in how you get in and out of your house - you lock your windows, lock your doors; the same way you need to have a similar protocol online. We generally take things for granted, and it's not until something serious happens that we kind of look back, and see well, my phone was hacked, and all my pictures are gone, and I'm being held at ransom because some of those pictures were compromising."
Claire Evans - High Commissioner, British High Commission, Belmopan "The collaborative nature in which the strategy has been developed in Belize is being highlighted to other countries as a role model for others looking to work on their cybersecurity."
A government press release says, quote, You can find the strategy on several government websites, including the Ministry of National Security's official webpage.
We hope to take a closer look at it for you in tomorrow's newscast.
