Be warned! - Police urge persons to desist from cybercrimes

The police are warning perpetrators of cybercrimes that they will be apprehended and dealt with decisively.

Head of the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime (C-TOC) Branch of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Assistant Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey, who gave the warning, said the JCF is committed to protecting Jamaicans from such criminal activity.

He said that since 2012, Jamaica has seen its fair share of cybercrimes "from unauthorised access, bullying, revenge porn, and cyberespionage, with the trend steady and consistent each year."

He noted also that too many individuals "are posting material that are degrading, defaming, lewd, and rude, (which) can cause people to feel embarrassed, threatened or placed in fear.

"Those (police) working in cybercrimes can tell you that we have seen these things on a regular basis. We have seen many persons crying and begging us for help," he added.

ACP Bailey was addressing a Cybersecurity Business Leaders' Forum at The Knutsford Court Hotel, St Andrew, last Friday.

The National Cybersecurity Awareness Day event was held under the theme 'Cybersecurity, Our Shared Responsibility, from the Boardroom to All Rooms.'

Meanwhile, head of the Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team (JaCIRT), Dr Moniphia Hewling, said measures are being put in place to counter cybercrimes, which she noted, pose a threat to all countries and societies.

"We are all vulnerable, and the increased incidents and cybercriminal activities place our critical infrastructure, our organisations, our children, everyone, at risk," she said.

Hewling noted that since January, the unit has seen a proliferation of ransonware, website defacement and email spoofing.

"Our threat maps are showing a lot of activity where botnets are concerned," she said.

Botnets are a collection of Internet-connected devices, which may include personal computers, servers and other devices that are infected and controlled by a common type of malware.

Hewling also pointed to phishing scams, especially from spoofed email addresses within an organisation.

Phishing is a fraudulent practice of sending emails, purporting to be from reputable companies, in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.

Hewling recounted a recent example of phishing, where a company was communicating with another over the payment of goods received.