Andrew-Holness

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says Governments of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as those in the Caribbean, must be prepared to implement measures to mitigate against Cyberattacks, which pose a big threat to tourism dependent destinations.

Holness was speaking at the speaking at the official launch of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on Wednesday (January 30).     

“The safety of the destination comes down to many threats: local crime, global terrorism, the threat of war, pandemics - but one that is emerging in a serious what and to which we have to pay attention, which many Caribbean countries may not be totally prepared, is that of Cybersecurity,” Holness stated.

“The Cyberspace and the Cyber frontier is one that we have to pay very close attention to.  Because the truth is that global travel, is so much dependent on the whole business of the exchange of information.  So the data of the travelling person is vitally important.  It is vitally important to the efficient operation of the ports; vitally important for the operation and the provision of services and if that data is not protected and gets into the wrong hands or is stolen or used in nefarious ways then it could virtually cripple the industry,” the Prime Minister added.

Mr Holness also said because Cybersecurity is not seen as a physical threat, oftentimes its potential to cause harm is underestimated by many Governments, and as a consequence far more work needs to be done in the region in this regard, thus it is a key focus of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre. 

The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre will be headquartered at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus in Kingston, is aimed at enabling vulnerable states across the world to recover quickly from natural disasters through destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions with real time data and Communication.

The centre will specifically target destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and crises.  It will focus on five mega disruptions namely pandemics and epidemics; climate change issues such as hurricanes and typhoons; Cybersecurity, terrorism economic disruptions and global geopolitical disruptions.

Source: Claudia Gardner
CaribNewsroom Staff Writer

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