Brava Forum Focuses On Cyber Resilience

Brava by One Communications hosted an insightful discussion as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, bringing together government, technology and business leaders to examine emerging threats, strengthen awareness and encourage practical steps to protect Bermuda’s critical services.

A Brava spokesperson said, “The Government of Bermuda is preparing to introduce an anonymous cyber incident-reporting mechanism and is considering a national cyber hygiene scheme for businesses, as cybersecurity experts warn that an attack on one critical service could have far-reaching consequences for the island’s interconnected economy.

“Anthony Francis, Chief Information Security Officer for the Government of Bermuda and Head of the National Cyber Security Unit within the Ministry of National Security, outlined the plans during a cybersecurity seminar hosted by Brava by One Communications under the theme “Protect What You’ve Built.”

“Francis said the Government could introduce a tiered cyber hygiene scheme within the next six to eight months to help businesses of all sizes establish minimum cybersecurity safeguards. He also announced plans for an anonymous incident-reporting mechanism that would allow organizations to report threats and enable authorities to validate and share relevant information.

“He warned that Bermuda’s nine critical infrastructure sectors depend heavily on one another, meaning that a disruption affecting one essential service could have consequences across several sectors.”

“In Bermuda, we are so connected that we don’t have what we would like to consider resilience. We have one airport. We have one energy. We have one hospital. We have one airport. So, when we begin to talk about resilience, we have to understand that our resilience doesn’t come from multiple things. It comes from understanding what the national impact of something in your sector going wrong is,” he said.

A spokesperson added, “Francis urged businesses to strengthen cooperation with industry partners and competitors, establish mutual support arrangements and share information about vulnerabilities. He cautioned that weaknesses in one organization could threaten others, making collective preparedness essential to national resilience.

“He also revealed that national authorities are tracking approximately 500 vulnerabilities and more than 400 breaches worldwide that could potentially affect Bermuda.

“Building on the need for greater preparedness, Tihana Madgic, Operations Manager at Brava, challenged business leaders to rethink cybersecurity investment, warning that inadequate protection could expose organizations to substantial financial losses and operational disruption.”

“I often see the leaders looking at the investment into their cybersecurity operations as an IT expense, which it is not. It’s an investment into operational resilience, financial resilience, and business resilience in general,” Tihana Madgic said.

A spokesperson added, “She explained that investing in disaster recovery systems and testing them regularly could prevent several days of disruption and potentially millions in losses. Madgic also urged boards and chief executives to monitor cybersecurity risks, recovery capabilities and vulnerabilities among suppliers, particularly as businesses increasingly depend on interconnected essential services.

“While Madgic emphasized investment and preparedness, Mark Arruda, Vice President of Solutions at Cloud Carib, encouraged organizations to translate cybersecurity awareness into practical action.”

“There’s a lot of things you’re going to hear about cybersecurity, and it can be paralyzing. So, I would just say take action. Pick something, one, two, three things, and do it. Every individual in the organization is a potential breach point. That phishing email, that new employee that gets a call from the CEO for gift card, all those things are vulnerabilities. It’s not just technology. So, act versus don’t act,” Mark Arruda said.

A spokesperson added, “He cautioned that even organizations with effective cybersecurity technology can struggle to recover from incidents when employees and management teams lack clear responsibilities. He encouraged businesses to conduct simulation exercises, strengthen employee awareness and establish incident-response procedures before an attack occurs.

“Brava by One Communications hosted the discussion as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, bringing together government, technology and business leaders to examine emerging threats, strengthen awareness and encourage practical steps to protect Bermuda’s critical services. The forum reinforced Brava’s commitment to helping organizations build resilience while promoting the collaboration and shared responsibility needed to safeguard Bermuda’s increasingly connected economy.”

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