- videos
- text
- images
- PDFs
- phone numbers
- email addresses and
- full names of US citizens.
The data goes as far back as far as 1996 through 2020. That’s nearly an entire generation of data!
Netsential, a Houston, Texas development firm that runs one such fusion center affected in the breach, was the source of the data theft. According to Netsential themselves, they believe someone used a customer user account to upload the stolen content through Netsential’s web platform.
Why have police become data security targets?
In the US, police unrest is at an all-time high. Further exacerbating the problem is the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Although Caribbean Island law enforcement isn’t clashing with its citizens like in the US, this is no time to get lax. This Barbados Today article from 2020 mentions how Trinidad & Tobago police must become more vigilant in protecting law enforcement data, as COVID-19 has made security breaches even more alarmingly commonplace.
The article, which highlighted pointers from the CARICOM Virtual Security Conference 2020, states that it can sometimes take law enforcement agencies and other targets upwards of a year to realize their security system has been compromised or hacked. Yikes! That’s far too long, as who knows what information data thieves could have stolen in that time.
Also compounding the problem is the alleged issue that law enforcement is seeking to purchase illegally-obtained breached data, as highlighted in this CPO Magazine article.
Supposedly, the goal of doing such is to benefit their investigations. However, considering that evidence that is stolen or obtained in an illegal way cannot be used in a court of law, one must ask if these endeavors are even worthwhile. Moreover, they could further jeopardize the public’s opinion of law enforcement.
How Should Law Enforcement in the Caribbean Prioritize Data Security?
Trinidad & Tobago police, as well as law enforcement across the British Virgin Islands, cannot necessarily follow the same data security measures as police agencies in the US. Since the BVI relies on offshore services as a primary means of income, cutting off outside entities is not an option.
However, this relationship only further serves to highlight the importance of data security across the BVI, as a data leak can destroy the reputation of the islands and hurt relationships with other countries.
Prioritizing data security across the Caribbean Islands starts with Trinidad & Tobago police. Admittedly, the police force here isn’t perfect. From police corruption to high rates of illegal drug activity and rampant gangs, issues do exist, but citizens still view local police as leaders.
If Trinidad & Tobago police willingly accept the challenge of protecting sensitive and critical data, its citizens will follow suit.
Why Your Police Department Needs Noftek
Data security for law enforcement cannot go on as it’s been. Today’s hackers are smarter and more sophisticated than ever. They can bypass simple blockades and crack basic security measures. With police in general more of a target and COVID-19 forcing more people at home on their computers, a horrible situation could erupt if measures aren’t taken to protect your data now.
Your Caribbean law enforcement agency needs a strong data loss prevention system that keeps all this front of mind. The data security company you choose should give you a deployment timeframe, offer training, and let you create a checklist of must-haves so your law enforcement agency gets max protection.
You also want to ensure you have such features as secure USB storage, data management, encryption, data compliance, data scanning, and content inspections.
At Noftek, our data loss prevention software is specifically geared to serve businesses across Trinidad & Tobago and the BVI. In fact, Noftek’s founder, Letson Jackson, was born and raised in Trinidad & Tobago and lived for many years in the BVI. He founded Noftek with the unique needs of businesses and agencies on the islands.
From law firms to healthcare institutions and law enforcement agencies, Noftek is in the business of keeping your data secure from breaches.
With our Noftek Defense System, we follow a multi-step process for protecting Trinidad & Tobago police data.
- First, the software identifies a Trusted Zone, then Untrusted Zones where data leaks could occur.
- Next, we encrypt all Trusted Zone files and remove those encryptions should a file that leaves the Trusted Zone come back.
- Finally, we monitor and offer support when something seems amiss so you can stay abreast of data security threats.
Remember, thousands of everyday citizens trust in your law enforcement organization to keep their data safe.
Failing to protect sensitive data erodes the trust in police further when we’re already on a very shaky foundation in 2020. Don’t wait until a data breach for your Trinidad police department to focus on data security.
Try Noftek today for a free 30-day trial and experience the security of the Noftek Defense System for yourself. Book a call today!