The Jamaica Computer Society (JCS) is offering its list of recommendations the Government should follow in the next 48-72 hours to moderate the growing blowback from the JamCOVID controversy. 

Jason Scott, JCS deputy president, in an interview with Our Today on Thursday (February 25), said before the public even considers to put trust in the security of state-owned assets again, the Government needs to detail all findings from the recently announced audit of the JamCOVID website and app.

“Where we are right now, [GOJ needs] to release the findings of the security audit. [JamCOVID] is a government website, it’s a public website. If there are any gaps in the audit, they could spell out the next steps they’re going to take to fix them. And just keep the public updated as to when those [gaps] are fixed,” he explained.

“They could so a retrospective; to look back and see at what points this all went wrong, and what steps can be done to mitigate that in the future,” Scott told Our Today.

The government could also consider quality control processes going forward with all contractors, as well as quarterly quality assurance audits and, finally, an annual security audit to ensure the assets are secure and operational as expected.

From a personal perspective, Scott that the Government could use the opportunity to launch a comprehensive public education campaign to get Jamaicans to take their digital footprint and data security seriously. 

“You’d want to do a public awareness campaign, saying ‘If you or anyone you know have been possibly exposed’? And what steps you can take…requesting a credit report, checking your credit card history, keeping note of suspicious phone calls and checking your emails for spam,” he said.

The Ministry of National Security announced an investigation into security lapses first highlighted by TechCrunch senior editor Zack Whittaker.