financial entities simultaneously. the recent cyberattack on the third - party provider ion cleared derivatives shows how an attack on one software provider may cascade onto their clients. in this specific case, the disruptions to the trading and clearing of financial derivatives remained limited, but we cannot ignore scenarios where the attacks could have propagated quickly, disrupting the financial system. this case signalled the need for financial entities to review their third - party providers, the providers of these third - parties, their cyber resilience levels and the systemic impact that may ensue from a cyberattack on any of these providers. in particular, it is vital to assess critical service dependencies on third - party products and services which could be disrupted or even terminated as a result of a cyberattack. mitigating measures need to be put in place. against this background, the g7 recently updated its fundamental elements for third - party cyber risk management in the financial sector [ 6 ]. in addition, the ecrb set up a working group in 2022 to support third - party cyber risk management. we must have a cyber resilience mindset at all times. the question we must ask is not if a cyberattack will happen, but whether we are ready to respond when it happens. over the past year, the ecrb has worked on a conceptual model for how the financial infrastructure ecosystem could manage such a crisis if it occurred. it has also developed protocols and networks aimed at supporting a collective, consistent and comprehensive response to a cyber crisis by stakeholders. ransomware the proliferation of ransomware is one of the most significant challenges currently facing financial entities. not only may ransomware attacks result in financial loss, they may also severely disrupt operations. even after a ransom is paid, there is no guarantee the decryption key will actually work or that the stolen data will not be publicly disclosed or further misused to extort victims ’ customers, for example. ransomware attacks are growing more sophisticated and damaging, which in turn may enable ransomware threat actors to obtain even more resources. 2022 was one of the most active years for ransomware activity. [ 7 ] however, it was also the first year that the majority of victims of ransomware attacks decided not to pay up [ 8 ], which indicates that the approach towards ransomware attacks is changing. authorities globally are stepping up their efforts to counter ransomware. for instance, the g7 issued fundamental principles on ransomware resilience in

timothy n j antoine : launch of the grenada commemorative circulation $ 50 note remarks by mr timothy n j antoine, governor of the eastern caribbean central bank, at the launch of the grenada commemorative circulation $ 50 note, grenada, 5 february 2024. * * * introduction g is for gold and g is also for grenada. on this glorious evening in golden grenada, the eastern caribbean central bank ( eccb ) offers heartiest congratulations to the government and people of grenada on the celebration of your golden jubilee – the 50th anniversary of independence. let me hasten to say that i bring you spicy greetings from the management and staff of eccb, and especially the grenadians who work at eccb and the grenadian community who reside in st. kitts and nevis. frankly spoken, many of them would love to be home at this time. to my fellow grenadians at home and abroad, i say happy golden jubilee! i offer my highest praise to almighty god, " for it is in him, we live, and move and have our being " ( acts 17 : 28, niv ). indeed, it is from his abundance that grenada has received one gracious blessing after another ( john 1 : 16, nlt ). as we reflect on the past half century and the antecedents to grenada's independence, i think we will readily agree that there have been many glorious days but also some grievous days - but through it all, god has stood with this nation. and we are forever grateful. i now wish to acknowledge the esteemed presence of her excellency dame cecile la grenade, governor general hon. dickon mitchell, prime minister members of cabinet other members of parliament dr. didacus jules, director general, oecs commission members of the diplomatic and consular corps ambassador kirani james, cbe, olympic and world champion 1 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches dr wendy crawford, chair and members of the national celebrations committee and secretariat distinguished guests and visitors fellow grenadians ( home and abroad ) members of the media good evening. the scriptures declare that " without a vision, the people perish ". this special commemorative note, which we are launching this evening, is the brainchild of prime minister dickon mitchell. he also happens to be grenada's first prime minister born after grenada attained political independence. when prime minister mitchell called me last june to propose this collaboration, i was immediately excited. and