Dominica combats cyber threats

Minister for Information, Telecommunications and Constituency Empowerment, Ambrose George, said that the government of Dominica has enacted cyber security legislation as a first step towards combating this growing threat to the economy.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a three-day Cybercrime Forensics training on Monday morning, George explained that a draft preliminary report on Dominica’s Cyber Security Needs Assessment has been submitted by the international partners to his Ministry and will soon be presented to cabinet.

“Having understood the potential socio economic disasters which such initiatives can have on a small island developing state like Dominica where cyber criminals may use them as a staging ground to not only attack the host nation but declare war on other countries the government of Dominica has taken the initiative to enact cyber security legislation as a first step towards combating this growing economic threat,” he said.

According to George, in the draft report the group of International Cybercrime experts sites Dominica’s strategy to collaborate with International organizations and institutions not only as model for developing the economy of small island states, but also a regional model and leader in the deployment of best practices.

George pointed out further it is his hope that the workshop will produce solid recommendations on the development of the National Cybercrime Strategy and Policy with significant importance attached to the legislative framework and institutional structure.

In the meantime, OAS representative in Dominica, Dennis Moses, added that the island is an exception in its momentum to improve its cyber resilience.

“This event has two main thrusts. The first seeks to assist Dominica in the drafting of a National Cyber Security Strategy in this regard Dominica is in a small group of countries pioneering sustainable, pragmatic and well designed cyber security policy,” he stated. “Only 37 countries globally have such strategies with only one of these; Trinidad and Tobago, representing the Caribbean region.”

He noted further that Dominica is and can be a model for other small island states which continue to experience difficulty mitigating persistent cyber security vulnerabilities, both from technical and policy perspectives. It is his hope however that events like this one will go some way in helping to elaborate a forward thinking cyber strategy that will inform the development and deployment of the countries cyber assets.

“The second thrust of this event is to contribute to the strengthening of the understanding of cyber forensics and cyber incident response. Challenges in the area of technical incident response and cybercrime investigation were brought to the attention of the OAS,” Moses noted. “In order to deter cyber criminals and ensure the rule of law in the Dominica cyber domain just as in the physical space, authorities need the tools and expertise to prosecute cyber crime. Further complicating this panorama is the fact that cyber investigations often require collaboration between a number of government entities and possibly from government’s outside external to Dominica.”