President Adama Barrow has appointed Sulayman Camara honorary adviser on cyber security.
Mr Camara is currently the governing National People’s Party’s new communications secretary.
His appointment is effective 1st February.
Contacted on his new appointment yesterday, Mr Camara said: “It is indeed a pleasure and privilege for the confidence His Excellency had in me and I will measure up to the expectations. I will do my utmost best to advise the president professionally and to the best of my knowledge on the very fluid and dynamic cyber security threats nation states face. I will advise him on APT (advanced persistent threats) and non-ethical hacking.”
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Commenting on the president’s appointment of a cyber security adviser, a US-based Gambian criminologist, specialising on law enforcement and national security crisis, Modou Lamin Faye, said the president has taken the right initiative in restoring security.
“A leader that accepts and appreciates constructive criticism and turns it into positivity to be better and leads with an open mind to learn new ways to evolve is the kind of leader that I would give my respect and full support to in whatever goal he/she wants to achieve. This kind of leader would also have a higher probability to win his/her followers’ hearts and support. But nobody will respect and support a leader that let people surrounding him/her put personal interests ahead of the nation’s best interest,” Faye argued.
He commended the president for taking the right initiative to put Gambians where they belong by hiring a cyber security advisor to keep up with cybercrimes.
“As we all know that cybercrimes are one of the fastest growing crimes in the world and The Gambia is not an exception or immune from those threats. This shows that Barrow is now focusing on paving the way for generations to come and finally showing both Macky Sall and former president Jammeh that he is the president of the country, and he is going to continue leading it with the best interest of the country and its people,” he added.
He congratulated Mr Camara and advised him in the process of doing his job to never forget why he is there and to always put the best interest of the country first regardless of who it is, including Barrow.
“Never compromise the best interest of the country for Barrow and his new mbahal cabinet’s agenda. The country is still in a vulnerable state; therefore, you are among the people that the Gambian people are relying on to build the new Gambia that we were all looking forward to when we elected him in 2016 to bring The Gambia’s security in line with the international community,” he added.
He further urged Mr Camara to ensure that teamwork be a guiding principle for him as it is very important especially in his line of work.
“Therefore, I advise you to put whatever difference which includes but not limited to your political views you may have aside and form a collective collaboration with other departments like SIS, military, and the police to work together and share intel. I would further advise you to create a safety net, where information can easily reach all first emergency responders in a timely manner.
“With the safety net in place, you all will be on the same page and have a higher probability to respond to emergencies and swiftly tackle any threat that the country might face. In other words, the success rate in solving crime will be high. Remember we are all in this together and you have our full support so long as you are looking out for the best interest of the country and its people,” he stated.