MONTEGO BAY, St James — Chief cybersecurity expert at the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), Dr Patrick Linton is warning that Jamaica should brace for an unavoidable surge in cyber attacks driven by artificial intelligence (AI), even as the country records significant gains in reducing both traditional and digital crime.

Speaking during a plenary session on security and public safety at the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre last Tuesday, Linton said the evolution of technology and deeper Internet penetration have created fertile ground for increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

“As crime fell in the physical realm, as the commissioner’s representative said and the minister, it has also risen on your screens. We have been seeing a proliferation of cybercrimes and cyber incidents,” said Linton.

But he cautioned that the next frontier will be AI-enabled cybercrime which, he said, could dramatically increase both the scale and sophistication of attacks facing Jamaica and the wider world.

“We are going to be seeing a proliferation of cyber attacks that are now associated with AI… AI-perpetrated-type cyberattacks, so we require persons to understand what’s happening,” Linton warned.

He said MOCA is now moving to strengthen public resilience by expanding consciousness campaigns and embedding cybercrime education into learning institutions, churches, and other social facilities.

“We’re going to be beefing up our awareness sessions, our institutionalisation of cybercrimes in schools, the universities; we have had persons gone to churches and a lot of social groups,” he added.

Highlighting his experience from two decades ago, Linton reflected on his visit to South Korea where authorities were already battling thousands of cyber attacks daily — which many Jamaicans, at the time, thought unimaginable.

“I recall 20 years ago when I went to Korea they had like 16,000 cyber attacks per day, and by the time I came back to Jamaica persons were like, ‘We’re not going to be seeing that kind of thing, that’s way out.’

“Now, as we have more penetration of Internet and data, we’re definitely going to have a rise in cybercrimes, whether through phishing schemes, business email compromise, and so on,” he said.

A cybersecurity expert is warning Jamaicans to brace for a proliferation of cyber attacks that are associated with AI.

Linton revealed that over the last five years the Government has endured multiple cyber attacks, with MOCA playing a central role in responding to those breaches.

While stressing that cyber threats remain active, he said the decline points to the effectiveness of public education and stronger partnerships, noting that past experiences exposed serious vulnerabilities in public awareness, the absence of structured cybercrime response systems, and limited institutional focus on cybersecurity.

According to Linton, those weaknesses prompted MOCA to intensify collaboration with system administrators, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), schools, and community groups, resulting in a notable reduction in cyber incidents.

“We have seen a sharp downplay — as a matter of fact, we have seen a slash in cyber attacks,” he said.

Linton also pointed the members of the Diaspora to a growing concern over cyberbullying, noting that MOCA receives reports “day and night”, underscoring the agency’s increasing role in protecting vulnerable groups online.

“Our duty at MOCA really is to work closely with the communities to ensure that we can at least help to reduce cyber attacks and prosecute them, where crimes are committed, with the applicable laws,” he said.

The session, moderated by Senior Superintendent Dennis Brooks, also featured deputy prime minister and Minister of National Security and Peace Dr Horace Chang, Deputy Commissioner of Police Richard Stewart, and Chief Technical Director for Crime Prevention Shauna Trowers.

Dr Chang used the platform to highlight what he described as historic reductions in violent crime, telling members of the Diaspora that Jamaica recorded 674 murders in 2025 and adding that, for the first time in more than three decades, the annual total dipped below 700.

He said the country closed the year with a homicide rate of 24 per 100,000 people — a steep decline from the 62 per 100,000 recorded in 2005, while murders for the first quarter of 2026 have already fallen by 29 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Dr Chang added that arrest rates have also strengthened considerably, climbing from 44 arrests for every 100 murders in 2012 to 99 for every 100 murders in 2025, reinforcing deterrence and public confidence in law enforcement.