Monrovia – The Managing Director of the Liberia Telecommunication Corporation (LITELCO), Dr. Darren Wilkins is calling on Information Communication Technology (ICT) institutions and Cyber security firms to tackle cyber threats in the country.
He made the statement during a one-day national cyber security forum held on Thursday, August 17, 2017 at the Corina Hotel in Monrovia.
“The dawn and ever-present use of the internet and its accompanying technologies have made it imperative for all of us to garner at least a basic understanding of cyber threats, cyber crimes and cyber security,” he said.
Wilkins noted that the internet is a communications tool that affects every aspect of life, ranging from education to entertainment to banking, health and sports.
“The internet brought us E-mail, Face book, Google, You Tube, Twitter, Instagram and so on; all of which have altered our daily routines,” he affirmed.
He also added that the Internet is a world market place where trillions transact business yearly, asserting that the internet has become widely accessible by smaller mobile and handheld devices as the global system for many nations.
The Managing Director said tackling cyber threats require collective action to build resilient institutions to mitigate the impact of successful attacks, noting that over the years there has been alarming reports regarding cyber-attacks and crimes.
“We live in a time of rapid technology and social changes.”
“The uncomfortable and inconvenient truth is that the more we experience these technological and social changes, the more we are vulnerable to cyber threats,” he averred.
The forum is focused on creating awareness for cyber security and its implications for Government, business and society.
The event is expected to feature some of the sub-region’s leading cyber security experts from business, government and academia.
Several institutions from various sectors of Liberia that participated in the forum were: USAID, World Bank, LBDI among others.
The program also brought together cyber security experts from the Ivory Coast, United States, Liberia and China.
Some major contributors to the event include: Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), Huawei, Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA), among others.
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