As digital transformation accelerates across nearly every aspect of daily life, the Dominican Republic is taking a major step to protect its citizens from growing cyber threats. The Dominican Telecommunications Institute, better known locally as Indotel, has officially kicked off the public procurement process to develop and launch a dedicated Cybersecurity Assistance Center, a new public resource designed to support residents impacted by digital security incidents.
Announcing the new initiative, Indotel Board President Guido Gómez Mazara framed the center as a critical public infrastructure project for the digital age. With everyday activities from retail banking and online shopping to social media engagement and access to government public services moving entirely online, Gómez Mazara noted that Dominican residents face rising exposure to a wide range of cyber threats. The new center will operate as a centralized, trusted point of contact for any citizen navigating these harmful digital incidents.
Cybersecurity is no longer a niche technical concern, but a pressing public interest issue that touches every aspect of modern life, from personal privacy to financial stability and overall public well-being, Gómez Mazara emphasized. The center will be equipped to handle initial assistance requests for a vast spectrum of common cybercrimes currently impacting Dominican residents. These include widely reported threats such as WhatsApp phishing scams, fraudulent phone calls targeting personal information, identity theft, hijacked social media accounts, e-commerce fraud, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, sextortion, and attacks distributed through fake malicious links.
When citizens reach out for support, the center will provide immediate, actionable guidance on three key priorities: securing compromised accounts to prevent further harm, preserving digital evidence required for official investigations, and walking users through the process of reporting incidents to the appropriate authorities. Importantly, Gómez Mazara clarified that the new center will act as a complement to, not a replacement for, the ongoing work of national law enforcement agencies and other specialized cybersecurity bodies, filling a gap in accessible support for ordinary citizens.