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.

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.

“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.

Originally published: Caribbean Journal

Caribbean Faces Serious Cyber Security Threats

PHILIPSBURG, St Maarten—Keep it secret. And make sure it’s safe.

Don’t use your real name, your birth date, or any single word. Instead, try a short phrase that includes some numerals and even some punctuation.

Devising secure passwords for your online accounts and your family’s Internet-connected devices is simple enough, if you follow those easy  guidelines. But most people just don’t.

And a major attack on a little-known company underscores how much of the security of the global Internet now depends on that unwitting majority of ordinary Internet users. On October 21, a distributed denial of service, or DDoS attack, brought down a relatively obscure US-based firm called Dyn.

DDoS attacks are fairly common. They typically use malicious software called botnets, hosted on infected computers over the Internet to bring down a specific service.

“What made the DDoS attack on Dyn especially troubling was the dangerous precedent it set. Dyn provides domain name system services, commonly referred to as DNS services. These services are a critical layer of support for the effective function of the global Internet,” said Bevil Wooding, an Internet Strategist with US-based non-profit Packet Clearing House.

“By targeting companies that provide this infrastructure support for the Internet, hackers can wreak havoc on for ordinary users, big businesses and even entire countries.”

Also disturbing is the fact that the hackers used networks of common smart devices like webcams, internet-connected TVs and refrigerators, to cause a disruption in service that was felt around the world.

“In the last two years, we’ve had multiple attacks, and the most recent attacks are using IoT devices,” said Mark Kosters, Chief Technology Officer of the American Registry of Internet Numbers, the organisation that provides number resource allocation and registration services for North America and parts of the Caribbean.

He explained that smart devices present an easy target for hackers to turn into botnets because users typically fail to secure them properly.

“A lot of the devices are vulnerable. It means that more and more homes are very quietly becoming potential sites of DDOS attacks,” he said.

“Now, we all have to make sure that all of those devices that we have around the house are secure,” he added.

“As smart devices proliferate, it will become easier for hackers to launch significant cyber attacks using unsecured IoT devices, unless ordinary end-users become more security-conscious,” said to Carlos Martinez, Chief Technology Officer of the Latin America and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC).

Wooding, Kosters and Martinez were expert speakers at the twelfth regional meeting of the Caribbean Network Operators Group, or CaribNOG, in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten from October 24 to 26.

The meeting brought together technology specialists from around the region and across the world to discuss cyber-threats and solutions for keeping computer networks in the region safe. The volunteer-based group got together to share experiences and exchange best-practices for computer security and network administration.

The group had several animated debates on technology, but always seemed to agree on one thing. When it comes to cyber security, it seems that keeping the Internet of Things safe will depend mostly on the worldwide network of human beings.

Curacao To Host Second Caribbean Internet Peering Forum

The concept that Caribbean minds are best placed to solve Caribbean problems is hardly novel. But the idea is drawing new life from an unlikely source. The Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG) is an independent, volunteer-based community of network operators, telecommunications regulators, Internet service providers, special interest groups, government representatives and academics who come together regularly to share knowledge and develop new skills.

Bevil Wooding, Internet Strategist, Packet Clearing House

“CaribNOG is founded on the premise that the region is best suited to tackle the challenges and devise the solutions that it needs for its own development. Caribbean people are best placed to identify and resolve the issues affecting the development of Caribbean networks,” said Bevil Wooding, an Internet Strategist with Packet House and one of the founders of CaribNOG.

“And that is not to say that we simply do it all on our own. Of course, partnership and collaboration are also important.”

Wooding was speaking at the organisation’s tenth regional conference, called CaribNOG 10, which was held in Belize from November 2 to 6.

The weeklong conference was jointly organised with the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Address Registry (LACNIC), the entity responsible for managing Internet numbering resources in South and Central America and the Caribbean.

It was no coincidence that LACNIC decided to join forces with CaribNOG and co-brand the meeting as the second LACNIC Caribbean On The Move event.

“LACNIC and CaribNOG are both working to develop the technical capacity of the region, so that we can solve Caribbean issues and address Caribbean challenges. Our meetings are the perfect forum to draw attention to the technology issues affecting Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Kevon Swift, Head of Strategic Relations and Integration at LACNIC.

Among the LACNIC representatives taking part in the event were Security and Stability Manager, Guillermo Cicileo, and Policy Officer, Gianina Pensky. Their presentations were well received by both local and online audiences.

It was not LACNIC’s first collaboration with its Caribbean counterparts. LACNIC Caribbean 6 was held together with CaribNOG 8 in Willemstad, Curacao in September, 2014. And as Swift explained, for LACNIC the partnership with CaribNOG has strategic significance beyond the meetings themselves.

“LACNIC’s goal is to make the Internet a more effective instrument for social inclusion and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean. And to do this, we recognise the importance of partnering with influential actors in the English-speaking Caribbean.”

More than 70 technology professionals from the Caribbean, Central and North America converged in Belize City for the jointly organised weeklong event, where much rich and lively discussions focused on regional cybersecurity and Internet development.

“This is my second CaribNOG in Belize, and I am always very heartened to see the excitement and enthusiasm of the technical community here,” said Albert Daniels, Senior Manager of Global Stakeholder Engagement for the Caribbean Region at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Alongside ICANN, the meeting also brought together several major industry players in support of regional network development, including Microsoft, Google, the Internet Society the Caribbean Telecommunications Union and Akamai Technologies.

“I’ve been a participant in CaribNOG since the very beginning. This is my fifth or sixth CaribNOG event that I’ve attended, and each event gets bigger and larger and more noticed and more interesting,” said Martin Hannigan, Director of Networks and Data Center Architecture at Akamai Technologies, a leading provider of content delivery network services.

For its next event, CaribNOG will partner with the American Registry for Internet Numbers to conduct a weeklong event in Montego Bay, Jamaica from April 18-22, 2016.