In light of the growing prevalence of online phishing and fraudulent activities, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn has called on institutions and authorities within the financial services industry to fortify their cybersecurity infrastructure.
Straughn, who spoke at the Barbados Deposit Insurance Corporation Bank (BDIC) intervention simulation on Monday at the Courtyard by Marriott in Hastings, said that despite the fact that the financial industry has benefited substantially from recent technological advancements, it is impossible to overlook the rise in internal security breaches.
“We have seen both an evolution and a revolution within the financial sector, the emerging of technology is making it easier for fraud to be committed. Our security systems have to be beefed up because online phishing is one of those things that can undermine the integrity of any financial institution in Barbados.
“Collectively, our financial participants must work collaboratively to ensure that we mount a very strong, robust response, to cybersecurity in order to give our citizens the comfort that when we do our business, whether we do it at home or go out into the world as we travel and interface publicly, that we know we have the infrastructure in place, working collaboratively with regulators outside of Barbados, to protect the stability and integrity of our financial system.”
He added: : “These issues today are front and center of our policy considerations… we must be cognizant of the need not just from a legislative perspective, we also have to consider the IT infrastructure that we are setting up with respect to our financial institutions. Equally, the operation oversight; should there be a bank failure or failure of any kind, do we as regulators – Central Bank, FSC, Ministry of Finance, BDIC – do we have the immediate access to take the necessary action overnight to be able to prevent contagion from spreading.”
