First Amparo Workshop in Haiti

27/04/2017

Haiti received the first basic computer security workshop organized this year by LACNIC’s AMPARO project. During this workshop, nearly thirty Haitian professionals received basic training on computer security and the creation of Internet incident response teams. This is the first experience of its type to be held in the Caribbean Island.

Together with Transversal, an engineering services organization, within the framework of the Papyrus – Konbit project, LACNIC organized this AMPARO workshop in Port-au-Prince in order to strengthen Haitian professionals’ reaction capacity in matters related to computer risk management.

The two-day workshop included the participation of IT professionals from both public and private organizations, universities, companies and NGOs, who received guidelines for the creation of a Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) and managing sensitive information.

Graciela Martínez, Head of LACNIC’s Warning Advice and Reporting Point (LACNIC WARP) and one of the promoters of the AMPARO project, noted that the initiative was organized within the framework of a project that seeks to create skills among Haitian civil society.

“Our contribution consisted of raising awareness on potential computer security incidents and helping our Haitian colleagues learn about Computer Security Incident Response Teams, how they can help an organization effectively recover in case of a computer security attack, and the importance of having trained personnel at a CSIRT,” Martínez observed.

Martínez also stressed Haitians’ willingness to learn and their engagement with the knowledge they were acquiring.

NOW, SURINAME. This year’s second Amparo workshop year will be held in Suriname on 3-7 July during the Caribbean Cybersecurity and Cyberdrill – Suriname (more information is available at http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Regional-Presence/Americas/Pages/EVENTS/2017/20287.aspx)

The AMPARO Project is an initiative that LACNIC has been promoting since 2009 which encourages the adoption of computer security practices such as Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRT). The project is part of the services provided by LACNIC WARP to its members and to the community as a whole.