Companies in Jamaica Urged to Implement Resilient Cyber Infrastructure Strategies

Following a spate of recent cyber attacks in Jamaica, Managed IT Services Company tTech Limited urges local organisations to adopt a proactive approach to IT security before they face a critical cyber event. 

Pointing to the rapid changes in the tech landscape over the past few decades, tTech’s CEO, Norman Chen and Security Team Lead, Jaleel Henry, painted a perilous picture of the state of cyber security in Jamaica. 

“Businesses in general, even some of the large enterprises, typically have a traditional antivirus,” shared Mr. Henry. “They set it and forget it, not even bothering to check for gaps to fill them in.”

However, according to Mr Chen and Mr Henry, the days of the traditional antivirus being sufficient are long over. With the technology growing and most people doing business online, the attacks have also grown, and the perpetrators are increasingly efficient at bypassing those traditional security methods.  

Mr. Chen conveyed that relying solely on a conventional antivirus solution for cybersecurity is analogous to depending solely on a standard door for home security. Just as homeowners invest in supplementary security measures such as security guards and gated communities, an organisation also needs multiple layers of protection. This includes Advanced Endpoint Detection and Response, a 24/7 Security Operating Center, and other security layers.

Beyond the traditional antivirus, they said that businesses need to have an incident response plan, regular tabletop exercises to test that plan, patching or updating devices frequently, and having a Security Incident and Event Management (SIEM) solution are other basic cybersecurity measures. 

In addition, the tTech team members shared that there has been a recent spike in ransomware attacks hitting Jamaica. And they say that without a proper cyber incident response plan, the trend will only continue. 

“The reality is cyber criminals don’t care about the size of a company. They’re searching for companies by using AI to make themselves more efficient, and any company that is not taking security seriously is an easy target,” expressed Mr. Chen.

As for the smaller businesses that may not have the capacity to build out an expansive IT security strategy, Mr. Henry said that they ought to have a minimum IT security strategy plan and Security Awareness Training for the users.

“Companies need to look at their approach to security, and ensure that it is layered; they need to implement strategies and take appropriate measures to properly secure their data, their customer’s data as well as their employees’ data,” stated Mr. Henry.

With these measures, which tTech is promoting this year through their annual business and technology conference TechCon, organisations are better prepared to face the inevitable attacks on their cyberinfrastructure. 

Mr. Chen urges business leaders across industries to consider the risks of forgoing a proper cybersecurity plan, saying, “We always ask companies to think about what would happen to their business if they could not access any of their systems for one week. What would that impact be if a company’s core banking application or its core enterprise planner were down for a week? If a company could not use technology in their business for one week, how would the company survive? Imagine being out of business for days, weeks or half a year. That is a company's risk, and the impact of not putting measures in place threatens the business.”