Speaking at the International Telecommunications Union’s Global Symposium of Regulators held at Atlantis Paradise Island July 11, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said e-commerce provides tremendous opportunity for businesses.

He added that the government must ensure that the country’s educational systems allow persons to be able to take advantage of these opportunities.

DPM Turnquest said The Bahamas, like many other countries in the region, is well connected.

In 2016, the country boasted the following statistics:

• Mobile voice penetration rate of 95 subscribers per 100 inhabitants;
• Mobile data penetration of 53 subscribers per 100 inhabitants; and
• Residential fixed broadband penetration of 74 subscribers per 100 inhabitants.

He noted however, that while the new advances in technology are important and can provide tremendous opportunities for growth and development, everyone should also be aware of potential threats.

He said the G7’s 2017 Communique from Finance Ministers highlight the importance of mitigation of cyber attacks:

“In light of the increasing digitalization of financial services and the evolving cyber threats landscape, it is important to pursue effective approaches for assessment of cyber security at the financial firm and sector level as well.”

“We recognize that cyber incidents represent a growing threat for our economies and that appropriate economy-wide policy responses are needed. No point of cyberspace can be absolutely secure as long as cyber threats persist in the surrounding environment.”

The DPM explained that as these attacks become more frequent, they severely damage the level of trust placed on our institutions, industry and even technology itself, resulting in losses to economies.

“No investor is interested in trading with a country or depositing funds in a financial institution prone to cyber attacks. We must jealously protect our digital footprint and ensure the highest level of data protection available.”