A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 6 November to Sunday 12 November 2023.
Monday, 6 November 2023
CTO Secretary-General addresses talent, technology, and the future at Human Resources Conference
Caribbean – Speaking at the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) 10th Tourism Human Resources Conference in Nevis this week, Secretary-General and CEO Dona Regis-Prosper delivered a strong message to delegates on the importance of human capital and the need to leverage talent and technology.. more
Customs begins rollout of online payments
Cayman Islands – For the past few years, the Customs and Border Control Service (CBC) has been attempting, with the help of technology, to streamline its services to improve the customer experience… more
GTT signs major “smart rooms” agreement with new hotel
Guyana – Business Solutions on Monday announced that it has clinched an agreement with a high quality 149-room hotel to provide an integrated high-speed security and telecommunications system… more
10 Additional Municipal Corporations Receive Technological Devices Valued $12.3M
Jamaica – Ten additional Municipal Corporations are being provided with FortiGate devices, valued approximately $12.3 million, to strengthen their digital framework and boost their technological capabilities… more
Parasram: Nothing to be done about data exposure
Trinidad and Tobago – Cybersecurity consultant Shiva Parasram emphathises with TSTT customers who have information included in the data dump exfiltrated by RansomEXX, but warns that there is little that an individual can do about it. He noted that the raw data dump has migrated from the dark web and is now being shared on download sites like Megafiles… more
Updated: Are you in the TSTT data dump? Find out here…
Trinidad and Tobago – Quantum-Chaos, a technology solutions company based in Delaware with operations in the Caribbean has created a website that searches the TSTT data dump on the dark web and allows a user to find out if their name is in the information archive posted there… more
Tuesday, 7 November 2023
Tablets donated to Juvenile Justice Department
Bahamas – Yesterday, 21 Ethos, a technology, education, and career development company donated 15 Samsung Tablets to the Juvenile Justice Department, according to a release form the Ministry of Home Affairs… more
Connected Caribbean Summit 2023 Takes Collaborative Approach to Accelerating Caribbean Development
Caribbean – In an era of unprecedented and disruptive shifts sweeping across every sector, the Caribbean region stands at a pivotal crossroad. The need for innovative, collaborative and forward-thinking approaches has never been more pressing… more
Flow Business unveils tech solutions for SMEs ahead of Yuletide season
Jamaica – Business operators in western Jamaica are gearing up to maximise their returns from the upcoming holiday season, thanks to the dynamic offerings unveiled by Flow Business… more
FLOW’s case against Gov’t, CHEC over infrastructure damage delayed
Jamaica – Justice David Batts will today determine whether the multimillion-dollar dispute involving Cable & Wireless Jamaica (FLOW), China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), and the Government will proceed to trial on Wednesday after it suffered a setback on Monday… more
Growth & Jobs | Successful digital banking requires communication
Jamaica – DESPITE SEVERAL changes and advancements in technology, the products banks offer have largely remained the same. However, as these institutions incorporate more digital technologies into their strategies, customers must be provided with adequate support to encourage them to adopt the new digital channels, fintech professionals say… more
Students Begin to Receive Tablets Donated by the Republic of Korea
Jamaica – Students from schools across the island have started to receive 4,103 computer tablets donated by the Republic of Korea, valued more than $92 million… more
Gonzales meets Bacchus, TSTT on cyber breach
Trinidad and Tobago – MINISTER of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales told Newsday on Monday that he had earlier held a teleconference with Minister of Digital Transformation Hassel Bacchus and TSTT chairman Sean Roach over the recent cyber attack on TSTT… more
TSTT places customers at risk
Trinidad and Tobago – THE EDITOR: Every time I think that our country has reached the bottom, something occurs that shows that the bottom is even further down for us… more
Wednesday, 8 November 2023
‘Bit much’ to only blame Bahamas over FTX fail
Bahamas – The Securities Commission’s top executive yesterday said it was a “bit much” for The Bahamas to take all the blame over the FTX crypto currency exchange’s collapse… more
FTX Bahamas signals fresh Ray ‘progress’
Bahamas – FTX Bahamas’ liquidators and their US adversary yesterday suspended all scheduled legal filings as they bid to resolve their dispute outside the courtroom… more
Unlocking Digital Success for MSMEs: The Power of the Digital Check-up
Caribbean – What is the Digital Check-up?… more
Hundreds of Entities Connected to Internet under National Broadband Initiative
Jamaica – A total of 14 parish courts, six police stations, all municipal corporations and 524 educational institutions across the island are now connected to the Internet under the national broadband initiative… more
Inter-Agency Communication Being Enhanced
Jamaica – Since 2019, 49 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have been connected to GovNet within the Kingston Metropolitan Area, signifying a giant leap towards enhancing inter-agency communication… more
50 MSMEs to Receive Point-of-Sale Machines
Saint Lucia – The Ministry of Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs, in collaboration with the Organisation of American States (OAS), is delighted to announce a significant milestone in its ongoing efforts to empower Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) throughout the island… more
TTCSIRT on response to TSTT data breach
Trinidad and Tobago – After three resendings of emailed questions and one stonewalled phone call to the Trinidad and Tobago Cybersecurity Incident Response Team (TTCSIRT), the agency responsible for monitoring and responding to cybersecurity attacks responded to questions posed to it on November 03 by TechNewsTT as follows… more
Thursday, 9 November 2023
ArawakX hits out at regulator’s top exec over “ill advised” conversations with BOB
Bahamas – ArawakX has strongly criticized the Securities Commission’s top executive for what it has deemed an “ill-advised and prejudicial conversation” with the Bank of the Bahamas (BOB) regarding their alleged negotiations on a settlement with the BISX-listed lender, asserting that it had submitted a settlement proposal at the bank’s request… more
BOB rejects $33m ArawakX demand
Bahamas – The Securities Commission was yesterday accused of “callous disregard” for ArawakX’s interests by allegedly interfering with its demand for a $33m settlement from Bank of The Bahamas… more
Protecting your identity after a data breach
Caribbean – In the wake of a disconcerting revelation that has shaken the trust of consumers and regulatory bodies alike, the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) data breach stands as a stark reminder of the fragility of digital privacy… more
Steer Town and Edgehill Equipped with Free Wi-Fi
Jamaica – Residents of Steer Town and Edgehill in St. Ann now have access to free, secure, high-speed Internet as the Government continues to equip communities to move into the digital age… more
Gonzales confident in independent probe into TSTT hack
Trinidad and Tobago – Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales is placing his confidence in the board of the Telecommunication Service of TT (TSTT) to ensure a fair and independent investigation is conducted into a recent hack that saw some six gigabytes of customers’ data released on the dark web… more
TSTT’s communications breach
Trinidad and Tobago – “How to squander trust and alienate customers.” This has to be the handbook TSTT managers are reading from… more
TSTT’s week of evasion, half-truths
Trinidad and Tobago – Last week was a long seven days. On October 28, I was informed about a potential data breach at TSTT that resulted in company data being posted to the dark web… more
Friday, 10 November 2023
Chief Justice is ‘satisfied’ ArawakX $2.4m insolvent
Bahamas – The Chief Justice yesterday ruled “there is more than sufficient evidence” of ArawakX’s $2.4m insolvency to justify appointing a provisional liquidator to take control of its affairs and protect assets… more
Chief justice orders Mdollaz/ArawakX into provisional liquidation
Bahamas – Chief Justice Sir Ian Winder has ordered Mdollaz Ltd., trading as crowdfunding exchange ArawakX, into provisional liquidation and ordered that a winding-up order for the company be prepared, according to court documents… more
Digital asset firms still interested in Bahamas, says SCB head
Bahamas – One year after the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Executive Director of the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) Christina Rolle said there remains healthy interest in the jurisdiction from digital asset firms… more
Sam Bankman-Fried ‘wants to be heard’ in FTX Bahamas wind-up
Bahamas – FTX’s founder says he “wishes to be heard” at today’s Supreme Court hearing on the winding-up petition intended to place the crypto exchange’s Bahamian subsidiary into full liquidation… more
AI will cause ‘havoc’ and wipe out jobs, conference hears
Cayman Islands – Artificial intelligence could make millions of white-collar jobs, including in the Cayman Islands’ key industries, obsolete within the next decade, delegates at an investment conference in Grand Cayman have heard… more
HEART/NSTA Trust on Digital Transformation Path
Jamaica – The HEART/NSTA Trust is on a path of digital transformation to align with global standards… more
TSTT: ‘Security increased after cyber attack’
Trinidad and Tobago – THE Telecommunications Services of TT (TSTT) says it has strengthened its safeguards to protect itself and its customers from any future cyber attack… more
[UPDATED] TSTT CEO sorry for data breach, company taking steps to better protect customers’ info
Trinidad and Tobago – TELECOMMUNICATIONS Services of TT (TSTT) CEO Lisa Agard apologised to the company’s customers for a breach of the company’s cybersecurity after an attack on October 9. She added TSTT had strengthened its safeguards to protect itself and its customers from any future cyber attack… more
UTT wants to ramp up the cyber security work
Trinidad and Tobago – Given its success to date and amid new emerging threats, the University of TT (UTT) hopes to ramp up its cybersecurity programme… more
Saturday, 11 November 2023
Companies still opting not to report cyber attacks
Caribbean – While there has been a noticeable increase in the number of cyber attacks against firms in the Caribbean in recent years, companies are still under-reporting those attacks due to fear of reputational damage… more
Three Caribbean countries join Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework
Jamaica – Three Caribbean countries have joined an initiative, developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), to ensure the recent gains in global tax transparency will not be gradually eroded… more
PM: Internet to cover entire country
Trinidad and Tobago – THE Prime Minister wants the internet to be available across the entire country, citing the numerous benefits it has for transformation… more
TSTT profits jump 316%
Trinidad and Tobago – Majority state-owned Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) yesterday declared profit after tax profit of US$21 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, which is an increase of 316 per cent compared with the US$5 million profit for the same period in 2022… more
Sunday, 12 November 2023
The rise and fall of social media superstars
Guyana – Me seh, me nah know bout you, but dis whole social media superstar thing is more confusing than a crab in a traffic jam… more
Mosa Estate bears fruit with agri-tech
Jamaica – Propelled by a vision of supplying hotels in Jamaica with fresh fruit, Toni-Ann Williams embarked on a journey into entrepreneurism unaware of the setbacks she would face as a commercial farmer… more
Cyberattacks should not slow digital adoption
Trinidad and Tobago – With the increased cyberattacks in T&T, low consumer confidence in digitalisation could be experienced but there is still a need for ease of access and convenience… more
TSTT CEO issues statement on company data breach
Trinidad and Tobago – On October 9. 2023, Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) experienced a cyber-attack that resulted in the unauthorized access of certain customer data, which was subsequently placed on the ‘dark web… more
Images credit: Bank Phrom (Unsplash); Flow Jamaica (Facebook); Wikimedia Commons; ArawakX; Wikipedia; Wikipedia
