JAMAICA is moving closer to establishing a National Cybersecurity Coordination and Assurance Council as the Government seeks to strengthen oversight and improve coordination among institutions responding to increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

Minister with responsibility for Efficiency, Innovation and Digital Transformation, Audrey Marks, said a proposal for the council is expected to go before Cabinet shortly, with the body to operate from the Office of the Prime Minister for an initial 24-month period.

“We are establishing this council as a lean, delivery-focused body, bringing together Government, the security forces, regulators, business, academia, the Office of the Information Commissioner and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, so that we will all be working together in alignment,” Marks said.

She was delivering the keynote address on behalf of Prime Minister Andrew Holness at the National Cybersecurity Awareness Day observance organised by the Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team (JaCIRT) on October 29.

“Its purpose is to align responsibilities, accelerate implementation, and prepare the way for a permanent national cybersecurity authority. Effective coordination matters when an emergency crosses institutional boundaries,” she added.

The proposed council, first outlined by the Government in June, is intended to address gaps in institutional coordination that could undermine Jamaica’s response to major cyber incidents, particularly those affecting several agencies or essential services simultaneously.

The urgency of that effort is reflected in the volume of attempted cyber-attacks targeting the island. Jamaica recorded approximately 12 million attempts in 2022, rising to 43 million in 2023 and more than 49 million in 2025. Another 5.4 million attempts were recorded during the first quarter of 2026.

Although the figures represent attempted rather than successful attacks, Marks said they illustrate the mounting pressure on the country’s digital infrastructure.

For Jamaica, a small, open economy seeking to improve productivity, expand electronic commerce and attract investment—the reliability of digital infrastructure has therefore become an essential economic asset.

“We want Jamaicans to conduct more business with government online, entrepreneurs to reach customers in new markets, and public servants to deliver services more quickly and efficiently but we must ensure that our systems are safe to do so,” Marks said.

To this end, she stressed that cybersecurity must be incorporated into digital services from the outset, rather than added after implementation, which can prove more expensive and less effective.

“Convenience must be accompanied by verification mechanisms, no longer just trust,” she further noted while emphasising the need for citizens to have confidence that their personal information and access to essential services are protected.

The proposed council coming at this time, Marks said represents the next phase in the country’s efforts to build its cybersecurity capabilities, which began with the adoption of the first National Cybersecurity Strategy in 2015. That strategy led to the establishment of a national cyber incident response team.

The division after attaining full operational capacity in 2022 now operates a national security operations centre staffed with local professionals who monitor threats, examine vulnerabilities and helping institutions respond to incidents.

The Government is also preparing the country’s third National Cybersecurity Strategy, covering the period to 2030. Building on the 2015 strategy and the 2021-2025 framework, the new strategy will focus on strengthening the legal framework, establishing a permanent national cybersecurity institution and expanding the pool of highly skilled professionals.

Marks said work is also advancing on a new Cybersecurity Act that would provide the statutory basis for national oversight and stronger protection of critical information infrastructure, including systems supporting energy, banking, telecommunications, healthcare and government services.

The legislation is expected to introduce clearer security obligations, incident-reporting requirements and accountability.

These initiatives come as Jamaica seeks to close gaps in its cybersecurity maturity. An assessment conducted in 2020 placed the country at 40 per cent, compared with 70 per cent for the region’s leading country.

The Government is also implementing a US$10-million Strengthening Cybersecurity in Jamaica project, supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to improve access to modern cybersecurity tools, specialist training and educational opportunities.

Meanwhile, JaCIRT’s national cybersecurity exercise, CyberXJM26, held on October 28 and 29, provided an opportunity to test the technical capabilities of participating institutions and assess how effectively they coordinate their responses to major cyber incidents.

Marks said such exercises are important in identifying weaknesses before actual emergencies occur, while giving young Jamaicans opportunities to demonstrate their technical skills.

She nevertheless cautioned that government intervention alone would not be sufficient to protect the country, urging businesses, public institutions and citizens to take greater responsibility for cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity expert and consultant Trevor Forrest echoed that call, arguing that cybersecurity awareness must become part of the everyday behaviour of Jamaicans rather than something considered only when threats arise.

“We need to ensure that we’re a nation, cyber strong on land, sea, in the air, but on every phone, every tablet, every laptop and every device that is connected to the internet…starting today, let us build that into our DNA and use it going forward,” he said.