Towards a national cyber security strategy : the case of Suriname

Abstract

The increasingly high penetration of internet in Suriname has called for actions to be taken to protect the people and the important things. Measures and policies to create an environment of innovation should also have a plan to protect all that becomes vulnerable due to the innovation. Having access to internet gives people the opportunity to communicate, trade, shop, learn, practically do everything global. This implies that the sovereignty of a country is also impacted when the elements of daily living become borderless. What is necessary to be protect and what is not part of the responsibility of the country. The Surinamese government is at a point where it has clearly seen that the ICT innovation is superseding the security mechanisms and has for this reason, installed an official committee to deliberate on a national cybersecurity strategy. Furthermore, it is important define the concept of cybersecurity, while the world is still discussing its perspective on it. Some countries have clearly defined cybersecurity in their context while others are still descriptive on what they perceive cybersecurity to be. International organizations are encouraging governments to establish a National Cybersecurity Strategy, as this is eminent for the ICT innovation to counter cyber attacks. They have provided guidelines with which the countries can work with, although the process is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Evidently, the national cybersecurity strategies do have components that are critical in every country. The National Cybersecurity Committee of Suriname has the task to publish such a document and set up a CIRT, where they will also have the decide which components are important and applicable to the Surinamese situation.