A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 30 October to Sunday 5 November 2023.
Monday, 30 October 2023
From ground zero in cybersecurity to competition win
Antigua and Barbuda – A few months ago, 19-year-old Emmanuel Chiddick had very limited knowledge of cybersecurity. However, what she did have was a desire to learn and the motivation to push herself… more
‘6,000% important’ ArawakX crowd-fund void filled swiftly
Bahamas – A long-time crowd funding advocate says it is “6,000 percent important” that another platform replace ArawakX if it is wound-up, adding: “The void has to be filled immediately.” … more
Sam Bankman-Fried Built a Crypto Paradise in the Bahamas—Now He’s a Bad Memory
Bahamas – EACH SUNDAY MORNING, the congregation of the International Deliverance Praying Ministry gathers in front of their church, ready to be let in. It’s a modest building in the southside of Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, on an overgrown and potholed street that floods when it rains… more
Belize Central Prison embarks on digital transformation with PIMS
Belize – This week, the Belize Central Prison, managed by the Kolbe Foundation, has been showcasing the enhancements that have been made to its management processes through the digitalization of of its data/information management system… more
UNESCO Transcultura Call to young Caribbean digital creators in film industry
Caribbean – Dear digital creators working in the film industry in the Caribbean, We invite you to present your animation and visual effects products in the framework of the 10th edition of the International Visual Effects Festival, the PIDS Enghien, which will take place from 31 January to 3 February 2024 in the city of Enghien-les-Bains, France, with the Caribbean, for the first time, as a participating region… more
Cybersecurity critical in face of digital, technological advancement – PM
Guyana – Prime Minister Mark Phillips on Thursday emphasised the importance of cybersecurity and reaffirmed government’s commitment to protecting its citizens and digital assets… more
Very disappointed with GTT’s customer service at Mega Mall
Guyana – On Friday, 27th October I went to GTT in Regent Street downstairs of Mega Mall to rectify my MMG. Told a floor staff about the problem of my MMG. She made a call and I spoke to the MMG service agent… more
BizTech Conference 2023 sets the stage for innovation
Jamaica – The BizTech Conference, organised by the Jamaica Technology & Digital Alliance (JTDA), is set to return on November 14 to November 15… more
Jamaica embracing digital transformation, revises national ID draft regulation
Jamaica – Jamaican government officials say they will factor in proposals made by members of the public and the private sector to a draft regulation that would oversee how the country’s new digital ID rolls out… more
Gonzales: Ransomware attack on TSTT ‘not true’
Trinidad and Tobago – PUBLIC Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales says claims of a ransomware attack on TSTT are “not true.” … more
Hackers claim ransomware attack on TSTT
Trinidad and Tobago – Technology journalist and Newsday columnist Mark Lyndersay says the public is unaware of how serious Ransom Exx’s reported breach of Telecommunication Services of Trinidad and Tobago’s (TSTT) data is… more
Tuesday, 31 October 2023
Digital payments ‘a train that is not going to stop’
Bahamas – The Central Bank’s governor yesterday said he is aiming to “leapfrog The Bahamas to an even better digital payments state” as he warned: “This is a train that is not going to stop.” … more
Cybersecurity professional: Report cyberattacks
Trinidad and Tobago – Cybersecurity professionals said it is necessary for businesses to report incidents of cyber attacks… more
TSTT: No loss of data from cyber attack
Trinidad and Tobago – The Telecommunications Services (TSTT) says there was no loss, manipulation or compromise of customer data from its databases, despite reports that it sustained a cyber attack this month… more
TSTT on ransomware attack: Hackers tried but failed
Trinidad and Tobago – The Telecommunications Service of TT (TSTT) said in a release issued on Monday that hackers attempted to break into its cyber systems holding terabytes of data but were unsuccessful… more
What does the TSTT breach mean for customers?
Trinidad and Tobago – From a Data Protection standpoint (which we don’t have but other countries in the region have adopted) there are several areas of concern… more
Wednesday, 1 November 2023
Bank denies ArawakX settlement negotiations
Bahamas – ArawakX’s belief that it stands to win “significant damages” from Bank of The Bahamas is being contested by the BISX-listed bank which says the two sides “have not engaged in any” settlement talks… more
BTC to provide full fibre service for Grand Bahama by the end of 2023
Bahamas – BTC continues its rollout of fiber to the home in Grand Bahama as it aims to make the island the first in The Bahamas to be fully fiberized by the end of 2023… more
PM denies FTX gave Heat ‘court side’ seats
Bahamas – The Prime Minister’s spokesman last night refuted claims he received free “court-side seat” tickets from FTX and other hospitality perks in attending a Miami Heat basketball game… more
US prosecutors question FTX founder over “cozy” relationship with Bahamian officials
Bahamas – FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried faced intense questioning from US prosecutors at his fraud trial on Tuesday regarding what they described as his ‘cozy’ relationship with Bahamian government officials… more
10 ways content creators can make money
Caribbean – As a content creator, you know creating high-quality content takes time and effort… more
Liberty Networks deploys Taara’s wireless optical communication tech to increase high-capacity connectivity in Eastern Caribbean
Caribbean – Liberty Networks, a leading infrastructure and enterprise connectivity provider in Latin America and the Caribbean, part of Liberty Latin America (LLA), announced today that it had successfully deployed Taara’s wireless optical communication technology to enhance high-speed data connection between two Caribbean islands. Taara is a moonshot for connectivity at X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory… more
PAYMENT PLAN
Caribbean – A new currency conversion trading arrangement that promises to save millions of dollars of foreign exchange in settling cross-border payments is set to involve the Central Bank of Barbados… more
EduFocal board approves rights issue
Jamaica – The board of digital learning firm EduFocal Limited has voted in favour of having a renounceable rights issue to raise well-needed funds for its expansion… more
Radio Jamaica Ltd announces board changes
Jamaica – The board of directors of Radio Jamaica Limited (RJL), the parent company in the RJRGLEANER Communications Group, has announced changes in its board and executive management… more
RGD’s digital journey gathers momentum
Jamaica – SINCE ASSUMING his role as chief executive officer (CEO) for the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) in February 2020, Charlton McFarlane has been on a mission to make the agency ‘digitally bold’… more
Cyber threat is real
Trinidad and Tobago – ON OCTOBER 9, cyber attackers attempted to access the systems of the nation’s leading full-service telecommunications provider, the Telecommunications Service of TT (TSTT)… more
Finastra: Fintech can boost trading on TTSE
Trinidad and Tobago – INDIVIDUALS could find it easier to invest in the TT Stock Market (TTSE) and to trade foreign stocks, due to innovations in financial technology (fintech), an official from one fintech firm told Business Day on his recent visit to TT… more
Thursday, 2 November 2023
FTX executive violated work permit restrictions
Bahamas – An FTX executive breached Bahamian Immigration regulations by working outside the scope of his work permit, court documents have revealed… more
OPM says PM’s son received no FTX funding
Bahamas – The Office of The Prime Minister last night in a statement said that Christopher Davis, the son of Prime Minister Philip Davis, had a single meeting with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to learn more about NFTs and that neither he nor his non-profit received any funding as a result of that encounter… more
New Belize National Broadcasting Policy coming soon
Belize – Durіng Саbіnеt’ѕ ѕеѕѕіоn оn Осtоbеr 31, саbіnеt аррrоvеd fоr а rеvіѕеd rеgulаtоrу frаmеwоrk fоr Веlіzе’ѕ brоаdсаѕtіng іnduѕtrу fоr thе dеvеlорmеnt оf а nеw Веlіzе Nаtіоnаl Вrоаdсаѕtіng Роlісу tо mоdеrnіzе thе іnduѕtrу… more
‘T&T under increasing cyber attack’
Trinidad and Tobago – Cyber threats, both in the region and globally, are increasing substantially and that is why government ministries and companies must ensure that their cybersecurity measures are up to date and confidential data is protected at all times… more
Friday, 3 November 2023
FTX founder Sam-Bankman-Fried convicted of defrauding cryptocurrency customers
Bahamas – FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s spectacular rise and fall in the cryptocurrency industry — a journey that included his testimony before Congress, a Super Bowl advertisement and dreams of a future run for president — hit a new bottom Thursday when a New York jury convicted him of fraud in a scheme that cheated customers and investors of at least $10 billion… more
Electronics being targeted in burglaries, says RVIPF
British Virgin Islands – The Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) said it remained concerned about the escalation of burglaries in homes and commercial buildings and said burglars have been targeting electronics in many of those incidents… more
Local entrepreneur attends Miami-based tech summit thanks to Central Bank sponsorship
Caribbean – The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) demonstrated its commitment to entrepreneurs by sponsoring an Antiguan consultant to attend a prestigious tech summit in Florida… more
NTRC’s 2023 Icode784 Competition Grand Finale And Prize Giving Ceremony
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – The Grand Finale and Prize Giving Ceremony of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission’s (NTRC) 2023 icode784 competition will be held at the Kingstown Baptist Church on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m… more
Parasram warns of possible GDPR fines after assessing TSTT data dump
Trinidad and Tobago – Shiva Parasram is a cybersecurity expert who has been examining the dump of data exfiltrated from TSTT’s servers. When he spoke with me, he was coming to the end of 22 hours of examining the files, which were captured as unencrypted, plain text files in txt and csv formats. Images of customer documents and identification are in standard JPEG and PDF formats… more
TATT declares it is “disturbed” by TSTT data breach
Trinidad and Tobago – The Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago is disturbed by the recent breaches of data at Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (TSTT) and the release of consumers’ confidential information in the public domain… more
TSTT: Cyber-terrorists did not access sensitive data
Trinidad and Tobago – IN a statement on Friday, TSTT said individuals who recently attacked its IT system did not gain access to sensitive details about customers but only other information that was largely outdated and stored on legacy systems… more
TSTT issues update on “cybersecurity issue” Claims no customer passwords or credentials in dump
Trinidad and Tobago – As a follow-up to our previous statement regarding the cyber security issue and the company’s ongoing investigation, we are providing the following update to address third party statements that have been in the public domain since our last release, some of which are erroneous, mischievous, and damaging… more
TSTT says data breach not major
Trinidad and Tobago – The Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) says despite the cyber attackers’ attempt to gain unauthorized access to the company’s system last month, the majority of customers’ information was not accessed but apologised to the few whose information was captured… more
TSTT Update on Cybersecurity Issue – November 3, 2023
Trinidad and Tobago – As a follow-up to our previous statement regarding the cyber security issue and the company’s ongoing investigation, we are providing the following update to address third party statements that have been in the public domain since our last release, some of which are erroneous, mischievous, and damaging… more
Saturday, 4 November 2023
Commerce Ministry on Sustaining Trade in the Digital Age
Saint Lucia – THE digital revolution is reshaping every facet of our economy-from the way businesses operate to how consumers interact with products and services. In order to remain relevant, businesses must embrace technology… more
TSTT data breach ‘troubles’ TATT
Trinidad and Tobago – The Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT)says it is “disturbed” by the data breaches at the Telecommunications Services of T&T (TSTT)… more
Sunday, 5 November 2023
6-y-o Jamaican girl uses AI to create winning farming app
Jamaica – Manage your garden or farm better with a Jamaican-made app that tells you what’s best to plant at a particular location. Plan your next overseas trip hassle-free with another local application that does it for you. If you’re a loner in need of a friend, there’s an app for that too… more
Wehby moots auditors’ database
Jamaica – Government Senator Don Wehby has suggested that a database for information sharing be established that will allow audit committees across the Administration to improve efficiency and output in relation to audited accounts… more
Wi-Fi Router discord
Jamaica – CHINA-BASED Huawei Technologies said a vulnerability detected in one model of its Wi-Fi routers that exposes thousands of Jamaicans to a cyberattack was fixed as far back as in 2017, and added that the routers in question were never sold in the island. However, data from the Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team (JaCIRT) dispute the claims… more
Minister orders independent investigation into TSTT data breach
Trinidad and Tobago – Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales has directed the chairman of the Telecommunications Authority of T&T (TSTT) to hire someone independent to investigate the data breach at the company… more
Images credit: Karolina Grabowska, (Pixabay); Wikipedia; Logook.com; Wikimedia Commons; Wikipedia; TATT (Facebook)
