Our press encounter with Minister Kareem Musa happened today at the Biltmore Plaza Hotel During a National Cybersecurity Forum.
It's themed "Toward Implementation of Belize's National Cybersecurity Strategy", and the Government has already declared its intent to try and make the internet as safe a place as possible for Belizeans.
In November 2020, Belize launched its first-ever National Cybersecurity Strategy, and today, the Ministry of Home Affairs teamed up with the Organization of American States and an international organization known as Global Partners Digital. They want to come up with a course of action for the next six months to progress cybersecurity in Belize. We stopped by that forum today, and here's what a few of the organizers had to say:
Kerry-Ann Barrett, Cybersecurity Program Manager, CICTE-OAS
"On behalf of the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Committee against terrorism (CICTE), it is my pleasure to be here today. For those who may not know, the Organization of American States has a cybersecurity program that has been in place since 2004. This program focuses on building the capacity of our Member States in policy development. The exercises that you're in today, when we began the process of developing the national cybersecurity strategy almost five years ago, it showed Belize's commitment to having a comprehensive framework for addressing cyber security. And for those who may not know, how do you do this with a document? A cybersecurity strategy framework allows the government to say to international partners, we are serious about this. It says that, as a government, you are able to put measures in place to secure not just your networks but your people."
Daniela Schnidrig, Representative, Global Partners Digital
"My organization, CPD, is a civil society organization, and we're focused on making cyber policies more inclusive. And I was reminiscing yesterday that I first came to Belize back in 2018, and that was the start of the strategy process, but it wasn't even the start for cybersecurity is a priority for Belize. That it had started even before that. And I think that shows us two things: first, the commitment of the country to improving its cyber capacity and its cyber resilience. But also, I think, as someone said to me once, that this process, cybersecurity, that's really a marathon and not a sprint. So it's not going to be a quick process."
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs & New Growth Industries
"On behalf of the Ministry of Home Affairs and New Growth Industries, I am delighted to have the opportunity to welcome you all to this forum that has been organized by the Ministry with the support of our partners here today: CICTE, OAS, and Global Partners Digital. I express our gratitude for their warm hospitality and support in organizing this workshop. More importantly, thank you for your continued partnership in creating policies and actions geared at building a more secure global cyber ecosystem. Over the last few years, cybercrime is becoming more and more of a priority, not just for Belize but across the world. We see cyber attacks happening all over, especially in our region. In some countries - some parliaments have been breached. And it takes so many different forms because we are living now in a new digitalized era, the metaverse, so to speak. And with all the opportunities that come with being a part of this new revolution, there are also vulnerabilities, also risks, also breach that can take place. And so this is very important for us, as a government and as a ministry, to engage with all the relevant stakeholders, the private sector, NGOs, and the DPP's office. What it means is that we have to have a collective strategy and approach to fight cybercrime wherever it occurs. So this is just a re-engagement and setting up a six-month strategy of where we want to go."
