National Security Operations Centre (NSOC)

The NSOC serves as the central coordinating body for cybersecurity efforts in Jamaica, dedicated to monitoring and safeguarding the nation's critical information infrastructure against cyberattacks. As the proactive arm of the CIRT division, it takes the initiative to anticipate and address emerging challenges effectively.

Key Functions of the NSOC:

• Centralised Threat Monitoring – operates as a centralised hub for threat detection, analysis and response, ensuring efficient and organized approach to identifying and mitigating cyber risks.
• Early Detection and Incident Response – continuously monitors systems and networks to identify potential threats at the earliest possible stage and takes immediate, coordinated action to contain, investigate, and resolve threats.
• Improved Coordination and Collaboration – focuses on improving seamless communication among team members enabling the effective exchange of information, expertise and resources.
• Threat Intelligence and Analysis – gathers data from various sources to identify patterns, trends and emerging threats, then analyses the data to assess its relevance and severity.
• Incident Management and Recovery – coordinates actions to contain the threat, mitigate damage, prevent further impact and restore systems to their normal functioning state.
• Cybersecurity Capacity Building – enhances the nation's overall security posture and its ability to prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity threats and attacks by strengthening the country's capacity to conduct awareness campaigns, provide training, and create educational opportunities
• National Threat Situational Awareness – gathers information on global, regional, and national cyber threats that directly impact the nations, and shares finding effectively with partners, stakeholders and the public to foster greater cybersecurity awareness across the nation’s cyberspace
• Deterrence and Response Readiness – demonstrates a robust cybersecurity framework that discourages potential threat actors and ensures a prompt and effective response to contain and eradicate a threats.

NSOC is essential in strengthening the nation’s cybersecurity posture by identifying, managing, and responding to threats. Through its comprehensive functions, including threat monitoring, incident response, and capacity building, it ensures a resilient, collaborative, and informed cybersecurity environment for the protection of national infrastructure.
 

Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team (JaCIRT)

JaCIRT is responsible for coordinating responses to cyber threats affecting both public and private sectors. As the reactive arm of the CIRT division, it ensures a prompt and organized approach aimed at minimizing damage, reducing recovery time and costs, and ultimately, securing an organization’s data.

Key Functions of the JaCIRT:

• Breached Data Management – ensures data is properly handled by identifying, containing, and recovering compromised information, assessing sensitivity risks, notifying affected parties, evaluating the impact and documenting the incident for future response and mitigation efforts.
• Malware Analysis – focuses on identifying how malicious programs (malware) operate, understanding their functionality, and uncovering the vulnerabilities they exploit.
• Cyber Incident Response – follows an organized approach in responding to cybersecurity incidents, including identification, containment, eradication, recovery, communication strategies and applying lessons learned for future improvement.
• Penetration Testing – identifies and fixes vulnerabilities in systems by simulating real-world cyberattacks in a controlled environment, with the goal of exploiting system weaknesses to evaluate potential risks.

The key functions of JaCIRT focus on identifying, managing, and responding to cyber threats, ensuring the security and integrity of systems and data. By continuously assessing risks, analyzing threats, and improving response strategies, JaCIRT plays a crucial role in protecting both public and private sectors from cyber incidents.