In response to persistent criticisms voiced by the Parliamentary opposition regarding the government’s proposed Data Protection Bill 2023, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, the Vice President, has stepped forward to emphasize the significance of the bill, and how it will enhance national cybersecurity.
Jagdeo also directly addressed the criticisms by highlighting the bill’s alignment with international best practices in data protection and privacy. He emphasized the bill’s role in governing the implementation of the electronic identification card (e-ID) system in Guyana. The Vice President emphasized too that this bill arrives at a critical juncture when effective data management and robust security measures are of utmost importance for Guyana.
Moreover, he said its urgency is exemplified by the recent breach of the Ministry of Natural Resources’ petroleum data management website, which fell victim to a malicious cyber attack.
On April 9, the government’s petroleum website was illicitly hacked and subsequently defaced with a Venezuelan map depicting Guyana’s Essequibo Region as part of Venezuela’s territory. This audacious act coincided with the International Court of Justice’s dismissal of Venzuela’s claim that Britain is an indispensable party to the case. The hacking incident was verified by the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, who assured the public that the National Data Management Authority (NDMA) was diligently addressing the matter. It is noteworthy that the information posted on the [petroleum.gov.gy](http://pertroleum.gov.gy “”) site was also disseminated across other government websites.
Addressing this concerning issue, Jagdeo expressed, “Cybersecurity will become now a very important aspect of government responsibility to see that our infrastructure is not hacked. We saw what happened recently with Venezuela, hacking some- one of our websites. That could happen with people now holding the country to ransom.”
He further underscored that, “We have faced increased threats from criminals, transnational crime, from all sorts of things- from terrorism.”
Interestingly, Jagdeo was keen to shed light on the fact that, despite their criticism, the agency had been actively employed during the previous Granger-led administration. Also, he stated that the opposition is yet to make official submissions on the bill.
He has maintained that cybersecurity and effective data management are unequivocally paramount responsibilities of the government and as recent events have demonstrated, the urgency to fortify Guyana’s digital infrastructure against cyber threats cannot be overstated.
