New Amparo workshop addresses emerging cybersecurity risks

31/07/2017

LACNIC WARP presented a second workshop in the Caribbean to promote the creation of computer security incident response teams in the countries of the region and train the staff responsible for critical infrastructure on major cybersecurity risks.

The training was conducted during the Caribbean Cybersecurity and Cyberdrill organized in Suriname by the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Tourism and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), where LACNIC actively participated both in the training sessions as well as on the panels organized within the framework of the event.

The first day of the forum was devoted to LACNIC’s Amparo workshop, where more than 40 participants representing both public and private organizations in Guayana, French Guiana, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Granada, Saint Vincent, and Suriname learned how to create a Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT).

The sessions covered both theory and practice and professionals from a wide array of sectors including banks, government agencies and academia received training from LACNIC experts on how to design and organize national teams to address current cybersecurity threats. “Basically, we shared with them information about what a CSIRT does, different types of CSIRTs, possible architectures and organizational structures, as well as staff profiles and the services a CSIRT can offer,” said Graciela Martínez, Head of LACNIC WARP and one of the instructors of the Amparo workshop.

During the workshop, Martínez stressed that national CSIRTs must manage the computer security incidents that occur within their scope and community. “A CSIRT must provide timely information on how to respond to the different types of incidents, determine their impact, scope and nature, and offer support to help the parties involved implement the various response strategies,” Martínez added.

LACNIC also played a leading role in the various panels scheduled for the second day of the Caribbean Cybersecurity and Cyberdrill. LACNIC CEO Oscar Robles addressed the importance of IPv6 in relation to security issues during the event’s opening panel, “IPv6 for decision-makers.”

Graciela Martínez then spoke on the “Cybersecurity in the Caribbean” panel, where she shared LACNIC WARP statistics on the major cybersecurity threats faced by Latin America and the Caribbean. “We must invest in security; to do so, it is important to conduct risk analyses and implement risk management strategies to prioritize which assets need to be protected,” said Martínez.

With its participation in the event organized in Suriname and the year’s second Amparo workshop in the Caribbean (an Amparo workshop had already been organized in Haiti), LACNIC WARP continues to be a leader in terms of cybersecurity initiatives, support and training for governments as well as industry, academia, critical infrastructure operators and service providers throughout the region.