Call to keep data secure

 By SHIRLEY MAULUDU

THE Government needs to commit and make budget allocation for the country’s cybercrime security, an information technology (IT) expert says.

Information Security and IT Assurance director Jo Stewart-Rattray said as PNG’s economy continue to grow, the country’s information and data needed to be kept secure from cybercrime criminals. 

She said the country’s important data needed to be protected.

Stewart-Rattray, who is a member of Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), told The National during PNG chapter annual workshop yesterday that like other countries, PNG was prone to cybercrime.

“PNG suffers just as a lot of other countries from the need to have that awareness (on cybercrime) in organisations,” she said.

“In fact, security policies are very important. 

“Not just to have the policy but also to ensure that the practices are behind it. And that there is enough budget to have to really do something. While PNG is probably not leading the world in this (cybercrime security), it certainly is not the worst in the world. 

“But it’s in that mineral, it’s in that ground where it (PNG) needs to really concentrate on the issues that it faces because PNG is becoming more and more attractive target as its economy increases and its wealth increases so it will become a more interesting target to the cyber criminals.”     

The event is an annual conference which had been held for past 17 years. With this year’s theme: “Technology assurance – managing technology risks in the transformation age”, issues discussed during included managing IT transformation and the assurance role that IT auditors play. 

Stewart-Rattray said the conference was aimed at IT professionals in audit, risk, assurance and governance roles.

Workshop participants were from small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the corporate and government sectors.