Jamaican Cabinet asked to approve creation of Cyber Academy

The Jamaican Cabinet is to be asked for its approval of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and Israel Aerospace Industries, to facilitate the creation of the region’s first Cyber Academy.

The academy is intended to build a professional and skilled cyber workforce by providing training and practical experience and certification in the areas of cybersecurity, cyber defense and cyber intelligence.

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr. Andrew Wheatley, made the announcement during his contribution to the 2018/19 Sectoral Debate in Parliament earlier this week.

Wheatley said the academy will be a center of excellence in the region and will make Jamaica the regional leader in cybersecurity and cyber defense.

“We face many challenges in our fight against cybercrime. One of those is the ability to find and retain expertise in the field. For our country to be equipped to deal with the threats associated with increased use of technology and the enablement of a truly digital society, we must have qualified experts to protect our public- and private-sector assets,” he said.

He added that cyberthreats and cybercrime have been escalating at an exponential rate globally.

Wheatley pointed out that Jamaica lost over US$100 million to cybercrime activities in 2016.