Jamaicans, especially business owners, are being urged to bolster cybersecurity to protect their operations against botnet attacks.

A botnet is a network of computers controlled by a single attacker that is infected by software designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorised access to a computer system.

The warning comes as the Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team (JaCIRT) reports a re-emergence of botnets operating Jamaica.

“What this means is that there are persons out there whose computers have been compromised and are part of a network that is used to conduct malicious activity and they are unaware,” head of JaCIRT, Lieutenant Colonel Godphey Sterling, said. He was addressing a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’.

Sterling, who said three botnets have been identified, is encouraging persons to secure their devices by closely monitoring their networks, keeping software up-to-date and replacing machines, as necessary. Persons are also urged to monitor failed logins to their systems.

He disclosed that there is an increase in the number of cyberattacks carried out against Jamaicans from perpetrators outside the country. The figure now stands at a just over 8,000 since the start of 2023. However, the number of attacks emanating from Jamaica against persons outside the country is also increasing.

Approximately 25,000 attacks were recorded during the first quarter of the year, which grew exponentially in the second quarter to more than 40,000.