Experts join heads on Caribbean cybersecurity

The best way to improve the security of a computer network is to break into it. That's the advice from cybersecurity expert Fernando Gont of SI6 Networks said, to the regional gathering at the eighth Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG) in Curacao.

At the meeting, Mark Kosters, chief technical officer with the American Registry of Internet Numbers (ARIN) and Carlos Martínez, chief technology officer at LACNIC, took a practical and in-depth look at the nuts and bolts of Internet security.

Martinez said he was “very, very disappointed” with the security industry because their operations were being motivated by the wrong incentives. He compared digital security to national security.

“It works the same way as a private prison. Their best interest is to keep things in a bad state. Their best business comes about by having a bad security situation. What is the financial incentive for them to improve the overall security situation? The best interest of the private prison is to have many prisoners but is that in the best interest of society? No, but the financial incentives of the security industry are wrong.”

Apart from cyber security, the meeting covers a range of technology topics including cloud computing, critical Internet infrastructure and mobile broadband.

For the group the social networking is as important as the computer networking. Between and after highly technical sessions, participants linger in pockets of conversation.

"The CaribNOG meeting is an interesting gathering where competitors in daily business become colleagues with the common interest in defending Caribbean networks,” said Bevil Wooding, one of the CaribNOG founders and an organiser of the weeklong event.

Interactions over meals and side meetings during breaks are a regular and important feature of the conference, which attracts technology professionals representing diverse interests from around the region and across the world.

The event is being held at the Hilton Curacao, Willemstad from September 29 to October 3.

More information is available on the official event websites: lacnic.net/web/eventos/caribbean6 and caribnog.org.

Partnering for greater good at CaribNOG 8-LACNIC Caribbean 6

Dozens of technology professionals from across Latin America and the Caribbean are gathered in Curacao for one of the most highly anticipated gatherings of the region’s technology community. The opening day of the event attracted over 50 attendees.  And more are expected to participate in Day Two, which is dedicated to covering issues related to cyber security in the region.

The week will cover a range of other technology topics including Internet exchange points, cloud computing, mobile broadband and other critical Internet infrastructure.

But many participants are expecting the coffee breaks to be as transactional as the formal sessions, if not more so.

“People who are doing actual work on the networks in our region come here to collaborate and solve real-world problems together,” Lee said. “Caribnog 8, in particular, has several very important side meetings planned, out of which we are anticipating some quite significant outcomes.”

Junior Mc Intyre, Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) project coordinator for the Caribbean Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (CARCIP), is among those looking forward to the networking that the week offers. For Mc Intyre, the big attraction of this high-profile event was not the sessions but simply the prospect of networking with like-minded technology professionals from across the region.

“We have been working in silos for far too long. A lot of good work is going on right here in the Caribbean but we lack opportunities to share insights with each other,” he said.

CARCIP project coordinators from three OECS countries—Grenada, Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines—are also participating in the event.

The weeklong event, which runs from September 29 to October 3, is being held at the Hilton Curacao, Willemstad.

The meeting covers a range of technology topics including cyber security, Internet exchange points, cloud computing, mobile broadband and other critical Internet infrastructure.

More information is available on the official event websites: lacnic.net/web/eventos/caribbean6 and caribnog.org.

Networking for Caribbean development: Regional tech heavyweights gather for CaribNOG 8-LACNIC Caribbean 6

Caribbean people have an appetite for technology that rivals any other region of the world. But who is working behind the scenes to maintain and upgrade the Internet-based services on which we’ve come to depend?

On September 29, the answer to that question was to be found in Curacao, at one of the most highly anticipated gatherings of the region’s technology community.

Jointly hosted by the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CARIBNOG) and the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC), this regional meeting bears one striking difference from many other ICT-themed meetings in the region. It is widely regarded as a solutions-oriented forum.

“This is a place where issues relevant to the future of the Internet at a regional and global level are being discussed. It is not a talk shop,” said Stephen Lee, Caribnog programme coordinator.

Lee was among a panel of experts to deliver the orientation and overview in the morning session. The panel included Shernon Osepa, manager for regional affairs for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Internet Society, Bevil Wooding, founder and executive director of Caribnog, and Carlos Martínez, chief technology officer at Lacnic.

“Caribnog's partnership goes much deeper than co-hosting this event,” Wooding said. "Lacnic covers Latin America and the Caribbean, and Caribnog is a key part of this technical community. We focus on the Caribbean but our concerns and interests extend to Latin America and beyond."

Martinez echoed the sentiment.

“We found that working together with Caribnog, Lacnic can effectively reach audiences in the Caribbean, which is an important subset of our service region.”

The weeklong event, which runs from September 29 to October 3, is being held at the Hilton Curacao in Willemstad.

The meeting covers a range of technology topics including cyber security, Internet exchange points, cloud computing, mobile broadband and other critical Internet infrastructure.

More information is available on the official event websites: lacnic.net/web/eventos/caribbean6 and caribnog.org.