Cyber security vital

While the move towards digital economies will take cash off the
streets and help make people safer, it is imperative that concerted
steps are taken in the virtual world to also safeguard people’s money.

That’s the view of George Thomas of GT Consultancy. He made the
comments yesterday during the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and
Management’s webinar on the topic ‘Digital Economies – Payment
Systems’. He explained that just as an entity establishing a brick and
mortar bank would put protocols in place to ensure security, similar
steps have to be taken in the digital space. Thomas insisted banks
must do the necessary risk assessments and raise awareness.

“As we digitise, as we go virtual, the same threats we have in the
physical world make their way into the virtual world. So someone is
not going to show up with an automatic weapon or a glock or something,
I mean what are they going to point it at? But they are going to try
to intrude on you,” he noted.

Thomas continued, “There are well-documented cases in the media of
breaches and so on, but the thing is in a technology-driven world, in
the virtual world if we are thoughtful, if we are methodical, if we
follow the industry best practices ... there are things you can do
around understanding your risks.”

With that in mind, he suggested that the risks in the virtual world
are not greater, but simply coming from a “different angle” and it is
therefore important to take the necessary precautions. He made the
point while lamenting that in a number of ways, persons have been
cavalier about cyber security. In that vein, the expert in the area of
digital currencies, also had some advice for customers.

“Customers, when you see an email, make sure you know who it is from.
When you see a weird-looking email and it has attachments, just delete
it. If you click on that thread, somebody is going to try to get on
your machine whether you have virus protection or not, and then they
are going to do things to you... Just like in the real world, there
are some basic things you do – maybe in some places you drive with
your windows up; you keep your car doors locked; you don’t walk around
with your cash in your hand, brandishing it because there are some
basic things we learn as kids and up to adulthood to de-risk ourselves
in the physical world,” he added.

Adding to his comments, Bradley Wilkes, co-founder of the United
States-based Open Payment Networks noted that security is a journey
and not a destination.

“You don’t ever arrive there and say we’re secure. Your attacks and
your threats are always going to come from different angles, so it is
a constant effort to engage people on how to stay safe and secure
online as well as a combination of capabilities that are resisting
attacks and threats,” he added. (JRT)