Antigua and Barbuda Developing National Cybersecurity Team to Protect Banks, Telecoms and Utilities

The Antigua and Barbuda government is developing a national Computer Incident Response Team to coordinate the country’s defence against cyberattacks targeting banks, telecommunications companies, utilities and other digital service providers.

Information and Communication Technologies Minister Melford Nicholas outlined the plan during the National Cybersecurity and Fraud Prevention Forum. He said the proposed national framework would expand an internal government team that already tests public-sector systems, identifies security weaknesses and restores services following cyber incidents.

The national team would bring critical institutions across Antigua and Barbuda under a coordinated cybersecurity structure.

“Any intrusion at any level could affect people across institutions,” Nicholas said, explaining why the initiative would extend beyond the banking sector.

Nicholas said Antigua and Barbuda’s cybersecurity risks also include attacks against utility infrastructure.

The country’s electricity network uses a supervisory control and data acquisition, or SCADA, system to coordinate the grid from a central location. A similar system is expected to be introduced for water distribution later this year.

“That infrastructure, if we’re not careful, could be vulnerable towards a cyberattack,” Nicholas said.

Although the Caribbean has not yet experienced such an attack on its utility infrastructure, the minister said Antigua and Barbuda must prepare before an incident occurs.

“There’s always day one when something happens,” he said. “We have to be prepared.”

Nicholas also linked cybersecurity to economic development, warning that weak digital protections could discourage people and companies from doing business in Antigua and Barbuda.

He said countries are assessed through a cybersecurity index and investors may avoid jurisdictions where their information and operations are considered vulnerable.

“Cybersecurity is, in fact, national security,” Nicholas said.

Gordina Hector-Morrell, director of cybersecurity in the Ministry of ICT, said Antigua and Barbuda is also working to strengthen the legal framework supporting its response to cybercrime.

The government is considering joining international agreements that could help local authorities obtain assistance when cybercrime affecting Antigua and Barbuda originates in another country.

Those agreements include the Budapest Convention, the United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime and the United Nations Global Mechanism on the use of information and communication technologies in cyberspace.

“Because it’s transnational, it may involve a perpetrator in another jurisdiction,” Hector-Morrell said. “Collaborating or cooperating with other organisations globally will help us to be able to do that.”

Nicholas said Antigua and Barbuda already maintains relationships with computer incident response teams across the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and North America.

Those partnerships could help authorities investigate international cybercrime, trace fraudulent activity and pursue the recovery of funds when incidents originate overseas.

The proposed national cybersecurity team could eventually include law enforcement agencies, banks, telecommunications companies, universities and nongovernmental organisations.

Hector-Morrell said public education must accompany the government’s technical and legal efforts.

“Knowledge is power,” she said. “If persons are not aware, then they can’t act accordingly.”

“Cybersecurity is everybody’s responsibility,” she added. “All of us have a part to play.”

Nicholas said the Antigua and Barbuda national Computer Incident Response Team is expected to advance once the government’s attention shifts from preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

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