After recent bank card issues, G/town Chamber Head says focus must be on cyber security

President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Kester Hutson believes that local businesses should now focus more on cyber security systems to help prevent fraud.

Hutson, who spoke to the News Room recently, acknowledged concerns about fraudulent transactions at two local banks.

According to him, these fraudulent transactions are not new but with Guyana becoming an increasingly attractive and sophisticated place for business, local firms should take steps to guarantee their systems are not hacked into.

“Now that you have Guyana being on the map in a very big way due to the oil and gas sector, the focus is now on cyber security

“…. Through the Chamber, we will certainly advocate via our Security and Governance Committee, to push for better lifestyles in terms of businesses and being aware of cyber security,” Hutson said.

The Chamber hopes to host webinars and discussions to help edify its more than 800 members.

Importantly, Huston said there are some business persons who may not appreciate the need for better cyber security practices, if any at all. He hopes the Chamber will be able to change that.

Last week, Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited maintained its Visa OneCard is safe for use as numerous customers complain of fraudulent activities.

The Bank’s Marketing and Communications Manager Jonelle Dummett, responding to questions via email, acknowledged that some customers have been impacted by fraudulent activities connected to the Visa OneCard. Those impacted customers, she noted, were being contacted by the Bank.

She also assured customers that the Bank maintains an active fraud monitoring system and works with all stakeholders in any instance of fraud. Even so, customers were dvised to vigilantly monitor their account activity through their bank statements or via Republic Bank’s online banking services.