Belize To Host First National Cybersecurity Symposium

BELIZE CITY, Belize—In response to a growing incidence of cyber-threats, Belize will host its first national cyber security symposium from April 24 to 27.

“We have observed a disturbing rise in threats to critical network infrastructure, corporate networks and personal data. These threats are growing more frequent, more sophisticated and more harmful each year,” said John Avery, Chairman of the Belize Public Utilities Commission (PUC), which is jointly organising the event with the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG).

“There has also been a disturbing proliferation of Internet-related criminal activity perpetrated against citizens. Meanwhile, Belizean laws have struggled to keep pace with malicious technology-enabled actors who pay no regard to borders, jurisdictions or local law enforcement readiness,” he added.

The symposium is being billed as an important first step in changing the national discourse around cyber-issues. The four-day meeting is expected to attract a broad range of local, regional and international delegates, including heads of technology organisations, industry executives, government ministers and public sector officials.

Belize has low Internet penetration, less than 40 per cent according to recent World Bank data. As a consequence, cybersecurity issues simply are not top of mind in much of Belizean society. Avery said that the symposium is deliberately aimed at gathering diverse voices and viewpoints, so that a wide range of sectors could lend their strength to the country’s cyber security action plan.

“Our larger objective is the development of a set of actionable priorities for strengthening our cyber defenses, safeguarding Internet users and creating an environment with digital-enabled innovation can thrive,” he explained.

Guarding the Digital Gates Bevil Wooding, Executive Director of CaribNOG and an Internet Strategist with US-based Packet Clearing House, said that the growing concern over increased incidence of cybersecurity threats was not unique to Belize but also affecting the wider region.

“Attacks on corporate networks, financial institutions, government agencies and personal devices have increased exponentially in Belize and the wider Caribbean. There has also been a disturbing proliferation of criminal activity perpetrated against members of society. Our laws and policies have struggled to keep pace with malicious, tech-savvy actors who pay no regard to borders, jurisdictions or local law-enforcement readiness,” Wooding said.

Unlike almost every other Central and South American country, but like most Caribbean nations, Belize has “neither a cyber-defense policy nor a national CSIRT; consequently, cyberattacks are mainly handled by the IT Unit of the Belize Police Department,” a 2016 report on Latin American and Caribbean cybersecurity by the Organisation of American States and Inter-American Development Bank observes.

A Computer Security Incident Response Team, or CSIRT, provides services and support to a community in order to prevent, manage and respond to information security incidents. There are hundreds of these teams in the world, operating within varying mission and scope. CSIRTs are usually made up of specialists across a number of disciplines, who respond in concert to security incidents and follow agreed procedures intended to mitigate the risk of cyberattacks.

“Guarding our digital gates is a collective responsibility. This is why it is so important to have a truly national forum where the threats can be explained to the widest possible cross-section of society, together with practical steps that can be taken to strengthen laws, safeguard networks and protect businesses, citizens and especially our children online. These groups will be collaborating to develop a comprehensive, common approach to securing Belize’s digital future,” he added.

The forum aims to bring together business leaders, network operators, law enforcement agents, and members of the judiciary, legal fraternity, academia and civil society.

The Belize Public Utilities Commission and CaribNOG are coordinating the event on behalf of the Government of Belize, working closely with several ministries and State bodies including the Central IT Office, the National Security Council and the Office of the Chief Justice.  The high-profile event is also being supported by international partners, including Packet Clearing House and the Internet Society, and regional partners such as the Caribbean Telecommunications Union.

More information is available at the Belize Internet Governance Forum website https://cybersecurity.nigf.bz

Global experts focus on cybersecurity in Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala—Guatemala and other countries of Latin America and the Caribbean must continue to develop a more proactive, all-inclusive response to cybercrime and cyber terrorism. That's the opinion of an international expert panel at a recently concluded regional technology conference.

“Our response to cyber security threats must include broad-based and multi-stakeholder dialogue. The integration of various, diverse voices is foundational to the process of developing a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic threats that exist in our evolving cyber security landscape,” said Guillermo Cicileo, coordinator of security, stability and resilience at the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Address Registry (LACNIC), a non-governmental organisation established in Uruguay in 2002.

LACNIC’s stated mission is to lead the strengthening of a single, open, stable and secure Internet at the service of the development of Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting the collaborative Internet model.

Cicileo was among several cyber security experts gathered in Guatemala City for LACNIC On The Move, a regional technology conference taking place from March 20 to 22.

Anabella Rivera Godoy, head of the Guatemala-based Central American Institute for Social Democracy Studies, called for egalitarian dialogue about cyber security that includes actors and representatives from every sector of Latin American and Caribbean society – governments, businesses, technical community, academic fraternity and community-based organisations.

“The development of cyber security legislation and regulation is very important but is not sufficient to change the behaviour of Internet users. For this reason, policy development must be accompanied by an aggressive agenda to educate the users of technology on their rights and responsibilities,” said Jose Luis Chavez, operations manager at SSASA, a Guatemala-based digital security firm.

LACNIC On The Move Guatemala was held with the support of the Internet Society (ISOC) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and attracted the participation of global Internet giant, Google.

“The process of hammering out consensus around cybersecurity policy involves ongoing discussion about the kind of Internet that we want and the the kind of Internet that we need. Ultimately, the purpose of regulation is to facilitate the development of an open and safe Internet that we can all enjoy,” added Maria Cristina Capelo, public policy development manager for Latin America and the Caribbean at Google.

The next LACNIC On The Move event is expected to take place in Guyana in July.

Internet experts favour Guatemala exchange point

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala -- Internet service providers in Guatemala have expressed a commitment to explore ways to work together to strengthen the local Internet. This significant step forward for the country's Internet landscape was facilitated by a regional technology conference held in Guatemala City from March 20 to 22.

Several Internet service providers attended the three-day meeting, called LACNIC On the Move, where they expressed interest in working together to establish an Internet Exchange Point, or IXP, in Guatemala. An IXP is a piece of Internet infrastructure through which the ISPs could exchange local Internet traffic between their networks.

Alfredo Verderosa, manager of the Services Department at LACNIC, said that the establishment of an IXP would be “a very positive development for the development of Guatemala’s Internet.”

LACNIC is the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Address Registry, a non-governmental organisation based in Uruguay. Since its establishment in 2002, LACNIC has played a leading role in developing a single, open, stable and secure Internet at the service of the development of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Guillermo Cicileo, coordinator of security, stability and resilience at LACNIC, said, “All Internet service providers, even fierce competitors, would do well to consider the superior benefits of working together for the greater good.”

A local IXP would improve the quality and cost effectiveness of delivering local web-based services to Guatemalan citizens and businesses, which is in turn a major benefit for local ISPs, Cicileo explained.

The IXP would also enable new forms of local innovation and entrepreneurship, allowing Internet users to capitalise on e-commerce opportunities, he added.

In other countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, IXPs have done more than address the inefficiency of local Internet traffic exchange. They have also allowed other important Internet infrastructure to be located in-country, such as domain name root services and content delivery caches from major content networks such as Netflix, Akamai and Google.

“We encouraged all interested parties to form an informal group and to continue to hold talks around the possibility of establishing the first Guatemalan IXP as a matter of urgent priority,” Cicileo said.

The next LACNIC On The Move event is expected to take place in Guyana in October.