AS GUYANA’S ECONOMY BECOMES MORE SOPHISTICATED SO DO THE THREATS

Guyana’s President HE Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali says in light of the growing position of Guyana globally and increased threats to the country the University of Guyana must now strive to provide strategic courses and specific interventions.

President of Guyana Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali

The President identified cyber security, port security, gangs in schools and the use of artificial intelligence for malicious purposes as some of areas in need of immediate attention.

Speaking specifically on cyber security, the President said cyber threats are real while noting the information and misinformation campaign during tensions with Venezuela as well as the hack of the Caricom website which left the information platform exposed to all elements.

“You see those who are attacking your information set are attacking it because they look at your reach, the reach of the country and one must acknowledge that the reach of Guyana is becoming more intense and we are having a greater position globally.”

Added to this threat, President Ali said the use of digitisation and artificial intelligence by sophisticated criminal networks or unfriendly countries could threaten the future of Guyana and has to be addressed now.

“If someone has the same capability or capacity or some State has the same capability or capacity (…) and decides to utilize it against you (…) this is an important issue and an immense threat to our security apparatus in the future.”

On the subject of port security, the Head of State shared that a greater understanding of this security threat is needed as it is no longer just “cameras and men.”

He says “it is an understanding of who is using your ports, why they are using your ports. It is understanding the global transport and logistics hub…(and) what are the threats within the global transport and logistics hubs.”

To this end he urged the University of Guyana along with partners like the Guyana Defence Force, the National Intelligence and Security Agency, and the William J Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies to produce programmes that would be used to educate students of security and defense studies as well as other stakeholders such as members of the banking and business communities about these threats.

President Ali also challenged UG’s leadership to develop a plan to address the serious problem of gangs in the region. He has suggested a training programme for teachers that would help to build their capacity and make them more capable to deal with this issue at the secondary school level.