The Guardsman Group has invested greater than US$2 million ($320 million) in a Cyber Intelligence Safety Operations Centre (SOC) in Kingston, aiming to carve out a share of Jamaica’s cybersecurity market and supply corporations with an area different to abroad options.
The brand new centre, which is housed at 14-16 Balmoral Avenue, marks the group’s largest transfer but past conventional safety and into digital risk monitoring – an space which is quick turning into one of the costly dangers going through companies.
“As we usher on this new period of digital safety, Guardsman is proud to guide the cost with the launch of our Cyber Intelligence SOC. This facility displays our unwavering dedication to not solely defending our purchasers but additionally fortifying the technological spine of Jamaica’s financial system and nationwide infrastructure,” Govt Chairman of the Guardsman Group, Kenneth Benjamin stated.
The SOC offers 24/7 real-time risk monitoring, penetration testing, darkish net surveillance, anti-phishing simulations, and compliance help—all run regionally, with no reliance on third-party worldwide distributors. Benjamin stated the providing fills a key hole out there, notably for corporations that had beforehand outsourced cybersecurity to abroad suppliers or tried to construct restricted in-house options.
Throughout his remarks, Prime Minister Andrew Holness stated Latin America and the Caribbean have seen the quickest regional development in reported cyber incidents; about 25 per cent yearly since 2013. Greater than 200 billion assaults or makes an attempt throughout the area in 2023.
“We recorded 43 million tried assaults in 2023. We’ve seen ransomware assaults on companies, phishing schemes concentrating on residents in addition to tried breaches of Authorities techniques,” the prime minister stated.
Till now, few Jamaican corporations have had entry to 24/7 cyber safety constructed and operated on the island. Guardsman says it’s the solely native agency at present providing this kind of always-on monitoring service as a subscription.
“Our SOC is a game-changer for Jamaica. It empowers organizations of all sizes to take management of their cyber danger. We’re offering a stage of digital protection beforehand solely obtainable in main world tech hubs.” David Whittaker, Group Deputy Managing Director, emphasised.
The SOC runs on infrastructure that meets worldwide requirements, together with ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, and SAP 2.2 compliance. Guardsman estimates its operations are equal to a Stage 4 SOC — one notch under the very best world certification tier sometimes utilized by authorities companies.
With three shifts of a dozen workers every working across the clock, the corporate has the capability to scale staffing rapidly as new purchasers come on board.
Guardsman is concentrating on data-heavy medium-sized corporations, in addition to bigger organisations in banking, manufacturing, and logistics. It’s additionally feeding into the broader nationwide dialog on digital infrastructure and nationwide safety. Guardsman has already held conferences with the Jamaica Constabulary Pressure (JCF), the Jamaica Defence Pressure (JDF), and the nation’s Cyber Emergency Response Workforce (CERT) to discover partnerships.
The pivot into cyber comes as Guardsman modernises its total method to safety. Recognized for its guard companies, cash-in-transit operations, and alarm techniques, the group is now leaning extra closely into AI-enabled surveillance and data-driven instruments.
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