Technology Minister, Daryl Vaz, while making his contribution to the Sectoral Debate earlier this week announced that an additional $20 million has been included in the 2023/24 budget to support the establishment of a malware laboratory in Jamaica to reduce the threat of cyberattacks.

The announcement comes following an increase in hacking and attempted hacking of several government agencies from 2022 into this year.

Vaz said the increased funds will ensure that certain operational objectives are achieved which include the establishment of private and public partnership programmes.

Additionally, the Minister said funds have also been earmarked to upgrade the Security Operation Centre, which forms part of Jamaica’s Cyber Incident Response Team and another $10 million USD is to be allocated for another project to help strengthen Jamaica’s cybersecurity framework.

The project is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). United States Agency for International Development is an independent agency of the U.S (USAID).