–President Ali says, calls for more training to respond possible cyber threats
WITH Guyana’s economy rapidly expanding, cybersecurity must now be prioritised to safeguard against threats that might emerge, President Dr Irfaan Ali has said.

The Head of State, during his address to education and security stakeholders at an award ceremony at the University of Guyana on Wednesday, stressed the need for training programmes to equip personnel to respond to cyber threats.

“As the economy becomes more sophisticated and our reach becomes greater, this becomes important… one must acknowledge that the reach of Guyana is becoming more intense and we are having a greater position globally and as a result of that there will be greater interest in what we have, what we store, what information we have, [and] what type of partnership we are having.” President Ali said.

He said that while cybersecurity was viewed once as a low level-threat in Guyana, recent events have showed the seriousness of possible threats.

The Head of State referenced the recent high-tension period when Guyana’s western neighbour Venezuela asserted claims to two-thirds of Guyana’s Essequibo region, and also a “online breach” at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat.

“We have seen over the last two years how intense this threat is becoming. The cyber threat is real. We have seen the information and misinformation campaign during the tensions with our neighbour,” Dr Ali said.
And back in December 2023, the Guyana-based Caribbean Community (CARICCOM) Secretariat had revealed that its online applications were breached.

CARICOM in a brief statement had said: “Certain online applications have been breached. In these circumstances, our website and other applications are offline until further notice. We regret any inconvenience caused. Telephone and email remain unaffected.”
“Cyber security is an important issue that we must address,” said President Ali, who is also the current Chairman of CARICOM.