Protecting your data, whether personal or organisational, has just become easier with CyberEye, a cybersecurity group made up of people from tech and security firms. This group will offer people policies, processes, and technologies to manage risk as well as help them detect and respond to any digital threat.
This group includes Angela Lee Loy, a stalwart in the business sector holding many titles – chairperson and founder of Aegis Business Solutions Ltd, a business consultancy for the English-speaking Caribbean, based in TT.
Lee Loy is a board member and a non-executive board member at several other leading associations. She is also past president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean (ICAC), past president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of TT (ICATT), and former TT representative of the International Assembly of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
She is also chair of Eve Anderson Recruitment Ltd and now chairman of CyberEye.
CEO Ian John speaking to Business Day said, "There is a heightened need for this type of solution and service offering given the growing cyber-risks worldwide. CyberEye was created to close the gap in ensuring the citizenry are well equipped to deal with this threat."
He explained that cybercrime can be considered an organised crime, and labelled it a “crisis” while speaking at the launch at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain. John said CyberEye will be able to help companies protect themselves from cyberattacks which can lead to loss of clients' information and earnings. He said ransomware has become one the biggest threats to companies worldwide.
John explained, "Ransomware actors are becoming increasingly aggressive and sophisticated, turning once relatively simple attacks into more elaborate and lucrative multifaceted extortion operations. These crimes usually involve multiple attack points, including ransomware encryption, data theft and public 'naming and shaming' of the victim organisations, all of which presents a more profound risk to organisations."
Though he didn't give any specific instances, Trinidad recently had an experience with ransomware in April when a cyberattack crippled business at all 23 Massy Stores locations. This attack was followed by another attack at a Massy Stores branch in Jamaica.
According to CyberSecurity Dive, the average cost of a ransomware attack in the US fell to US$1.4 million in 2021, down from US$1.85 million in 2020.
CyberEye was only launched on Tuesday, but John said, "The software solutions provided by CyberEye and our partners have been fully developed and deployed extensively in the UK at numerous companies. There are over 500-plus organisations with over 4,000-plus users."
He explained that with cyberattacks becoming more sophisticated, there would be a need for more cybersecurity personnel given there are only 3.4 million people who are effectively trained worldwide.
As for cost, John said, "There is no one-s