In a case of cyber breach, 'we must already know who must be contacted, which information must be shared, and what action must be taken,' said Transport Minister Lundy

NASSAU, The Bahamas - The National Computer Incident Response Team of The Bahamas (CIRT-BS), the Port Department, and the Latin America and Caribbean Cyber Competence Centre (LAC4) hosted a three-day training workshop on Cybersecurity in Ports of The Bahamas, September 21 -23, 2026 at Paul Farquharson Centre, Police Headquarters.

It brought together officials from the port, customs, law enforcement and digital innovation agencies with the goal of strengthening the cyber-resilience of Bahamian Maritime and Logistics Infrastructure.

Minister of Transport, The Hon. Leon Lundy brought remarks that showcased the importance of security for the country's ports and how it is directly tied to the security of the country and its people.

"For a country like The Bahamas our maritime infrastructure is [not simply] a network of ports and facilities. It is the connection between our islands, our economy, and the rest of the world."

The minister also noted that cyber attacks that can greatly impact the country most likely won't come through its front doors, so being prepared is the only sure cause of effective action to combat such a threat.

"That is why cybersecurity can no longer be treated as simply an IT issue. It is a national resilience issue."

The minister went on to highlight the significance of creating proper communication between the agencies that are key to the function of cyber security and the ports.

Pointing to the national security agencies -- the port department, the customs authorities, cyber security professionals, maritime and law enforcement officials that would have participated in the workshop, he said: "We must already know who is responsible, who must be contacted, which information must be shared and what action must be taken."

The minister shared his wishes for all of the participating persons of the workshop. "I want us to leave this workshop with something greater than a training certificate I want us to leave with a greater preparedness, greater concentration and greater confidence in our ability to protect The Bahamas, because we cannot wait for the next cyber incident to tell us what we should have done."

Bahamas Port Department Port Controller, Captain Carlon Bethell; CIRT-BS, Director, Sametria Mckinney; Programme Managers LAC4, Tallinn Estonia and Ortega Prudencio, Leonardo Daniel were also in attendance and contributed to the success of the workshop and closing ceremony.

The workshop showcased a real-life cyber crisis simulation and troubleshooting; with noted communication and response time.